![\"Four](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/WONDERFUL-LIFE-IMAGE-300x300.jpg\")
Scapetis-Tycer says the cast of primarily student actors were eager to perform in a new way, noting that the classes she teaches in vocal performance techniques include proper use of microphones for acting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do a lot of skills in the training program that directly feed into this,\u201d she says. \u201cWe actually do microphone technique in the second year of the program, so all of the actors had a certain amount of experience even though they hadn\u2019t done an actual radio play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abigail Hilditch \u201922 (SFA), who last year was in Scapetis-Tycer\u2019s class, portrays six individual characters and appears in scenes as part of an ensemble in \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life.\u201d She says that, during the first table rehearsal, when actors begin to compile detailed notes about their parts, she was admittedly nervous.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the first read at the table rehearsal, I went in and voiced my concerns at how nervous I was,\u201d she says. \u201cI now feel very confident in voice acting. In the show, I have a lot of voices that I didn\u2019t really know I could produce from my body. Now I have that confidence and that I can create like that with my voice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hilditch says early in rehearsals Scapetis-Tycer suggested that actors seek inspirations for creating voices for their different characters. With the character Zuzu, the young daughter of protagonist George Bailey, Hilditch thought of Shirley Temple. She looked to telephone operators in the 1930s for her bank teller character, Hortense.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Zuzu, I added a lisp and that made it different from other voices and really solidified the voice for me. My teller voice Hortense is very nasal, whereas my chairwoman voice is further back and closed off,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of old and new information coming together to help with this new medium.\u201d<\/p>\n
The story of George Bailey’s moment of crisis on Christmas Eve and subsequent assistance from an unlikely angelic messenger named Clarence is a familiar staple of the holiday season partly because, as Scapetis-Tycer writes in the playbill prepared for the production, it is a story that has contemporary resonance.<\/p>\n
\u201cSet in the first half of the twentieth century, the story encompasses a string of historical events and key themes that strike me as incredibly relevant today,\u201d she writes. \u201cWe first meet George in 1919, during the last pandemic, and the story continues through periods of social change, economic upheaval, and war. Through it all, fundamental economic, social, and spiritual questions are posed. How do we reconcile individualism with community? What is a good life and what is success? How do we understand the value of a human life? Can we envision a world in which all individuals are supported in ways that allow them to flourish and ultimately give back?\u201d<\/p>\n
Acting major Nick Luberto \u201922 (SFA) has the lead as George Bailey. His previous credits include CRT\u2019s \u201cShakespeare in Love\u201d and the Cinnamon Summer Series\u2019 \u201cMuch Ado About Nothing.\u201d Equity actors performing multiple roles are Thom Sesma and Lisa Wolpe.<\/p>\n
Sesma has extensive Broadway, Off-Broadway and National tour credits including \u201cMan of La Mancha,\u201d \u201cMiss Saigon,\u201d \u201cArturo UI,\u201d \u201cSweeney Todd,\u201d and \u201cDiscord.\u201d His television credits include \u201cGotham,\u201d \u201cMadam Secretary,\u201d \u201cThe Good Wife,\u201d and \u201cPerson of Interest. Wolpe is a veteran of Shakespeare Festival performances across the nation and is the founder of the all-female, multi-cultural Los Angeles Women\u2019s Shakespeare Company. Her hit solo \u201cShakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender\u201d production has toured internationally.<\/p>\n
Student actors performing multiple roles include Matt Bader \u201921 (SFA), Eliza Carson \u201922 (SFA), Nicolle Cooper \u201922 (SFA), Jamie Feidner \u201922 (SFA), Abigail Hilditch \u201922 (SFA), Jim Zemin Jiang \u201922 (SFA), Colin Kinnick \u201922 (SFA), Alex Kosciusaek \u201922 (SFA), Tyler Nowakowski \u201921 (SFA), Sean Redahan \u201921 (SFA), and Leone Julio Rodriguez \u201921 (SFA).<\/p>\n
All performances will be prerecorded and streamed online for eight performances beginning on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. and continuing through SAturday, Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. An American Sign Language interpreted performance scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. Post-show talkbacks are scheduled following performances on Nov. 19 and the matinee on Nov. 21. Ticket purchasers will receive a link and passcode via email 24 hours prior to the performance, which will allow access to the audio performance at the stated time.<\/p>\n