{"id":10732,"date":"2010-03-11T07:00:53","date_gmt":"2010-03-11T11:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=10732"},"modified":"2011-05-31T12:43:03","modified_gmt":"2011-05-31T16:43:03","slug":"actors-snap-to-attention-in-preparation-for-upcoming-roles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2010\/03\/actors-snap-to-attention-in-preparation-for-upcoming-roles\/","title":{"rendered":"Actors Snap to Attention to Prepare for Upcoming Roles"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"<p>Sergeant<\/a>
Sgt. First Class John Maynard drills students, from left, Bryan Swormstedt, Daniel Seigerman, and Cayla Buettner in preparation for an upcoming Connecticut Repertory Theatre production. Photos by Frank Dahlmeyer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Standing at attention in a training room at the University\u2019s ROTC campus headquarters, Cayla Buettner, Dan Seigerman, and Bryan Swormstedt look like all the other new recruits trying to get a grasp of proper military style.<\/p>\n

As Sgt. First Class John Maynard, a former drill instructor, barks out commands \u2013 \u201cAtten-shun!\u201d \u201cPaarradde Rest!\u201d and \u201cOrrderr Arms!\u201d \u2013 the three students fumble their way through the precision drill.<\/p>\n

But it isn\u2019t long before the trio is falling into sync. As Maynard puts them through their paces, the three begin snapping crisp salutes in unison, silently rotating on their heels in a stylish \u201cAbout Face!\u201d and keeping their eyes locked front and center after every turn. Impressive.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all in a day\u2019s work for the bachelor of fine arts undergraduates who volunteered to endure the mini boot camp to prepare for their parts as soldiers in the Connecticut Repertory Theatre\u2019s<\/a> production of \u201cToo Much Memory.<\/em>\u201d The Connecticut Repertory Theatre is the professional producing arm of the Department of Dramatic Arts. The play, a contemporary retelling of the classic tale of Antigone, will be performed March 25 through April 3 in the Studio Theatre off Bolton Road on the Storrs campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with Sergeant Maynard has been invaluable for the three actors playing the soldiers in Too Much Memory<\/em>,\u201d says Helene Kvale<\/a>, an assistant professor-in-residence in the Department of Dramatic Arts and the production\u2019s director.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe opportunity to hear first-hand tales from the battlefield, stories of Abu Ghraib, details of the emotional highs and lows of being a soldier, helps the actors to recreate accurate portraits of their characters, \u201d Kvale says. \u201cSergeant Maynard not only openly recounted his experiences; he also acted as drill sergeant, helping the actors to understand the training of a soldier. He has taught them how to act, behave, and think like soldiers. We are very grateful for his collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<p>Sergeant<\/a>
Sgt. First Class John Maynard, left, and Cadet Chris Eidam discuss military conventions with students Daniel Seigerman and Cayla Buettner. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sgt. Maynard and sophomore Chris Eidam, a 19-year-old sociology major and ROTC cadet from Pound Ridge, N.Y., spent several hours with the young actors over two days talking to them about what it\u2019s like being in the military, the personal sacrifice and discipline integral to a soldier\u2019s performance, and the demands of military precision drills.<\/p>\n

Maynard suggested the actors watch some good military movies (Saving Private Ryan<\/em> being one) to appreciate military command structure and camaraderie. Both men also advised their new \u201crecruits\u201d to polish their moves in front of a full-length mirror if they can.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing how many commands and precise moves soldiers need to be able to do in a split second,\u201d says Seigerman. \u201cIt\u2019s very specific, scary, and exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seigerman adds that the training enhanced his appreciation for what soldiers must do. \u201cThey make it look easy because they are trained so well,\u201d he says. \u201cI admire greatly a soldier\u2019s attitude, their professionalism, and camaraderie for everything they do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maynard said he was impressed by the students\u2019 dedication to their roles and their willingness to train and learn.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a pretty cool opportunity for me to work with the drama department,\u201d said Maynard, who has 17 years of active duty service and has spent the past year in Storrs. \u201cI really enjoyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sophocles\u2019 classic play Antigone was written in the fifth century B.C. and has been reinvented countless times since then, says Kvale. CRT\u2019s production is based on a rendition written by Keith Reddin and Meg Gibson.<\/p>\n

Kvale describes the play as a \u201cfast, furious and often funny modern tale about speaking out,\u201d set in the present day, with references to pop culture, added scenes, and text drawn from Richard Nixon, Hannah Arendt, Susan Sontag, Peter Brook, and others.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt reflects the late Bush era of Guantanamo, detainee abuse, absolute power, and the role of the media in determining the truth. It asks what is TRUTH? Does anybody care? The questions are still important today,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u2018In this production, we are underscoring the point of view of youth in all its complexity, arrogance, impetuous folly, idealism, and private loyalty,\u201d Kvale adds. \u201cIt will speak to college students. It is aimed at them. It is their story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Information and tickets for Too Much Memory<\/em> are available through the Connecticut Repertory Theatre\u2019s website<\/a>, or by calling 860-486-4226.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three students were trained by a ROTC sergeant for a Connecticut Repertory Theatre production.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[44],"class_list":["post-10732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-08 19:23:55","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10732"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37588,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10732\/revisions\/37588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10732"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=10732"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=10732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}