Past Apprenticeship Recipients
MICHAEL RANDAZZO, 2009 VSA arts Apprentice
Michael Randazzo is a 22-year-old senior theater major at SUNY Potsdam. He began acting at age 13, and remained involved in theatrical productions both onstage and behind the scenes throughout high school and college. As part of his college’s One-Act Play Festival, Randazzo performed in the play Slave Ship which then went to the Cornerstone Festival at Liverpool Hope University in the UK. Randazzo, who is legally blind, found that show to be a pivotal experience in his theatrical career. “Through this show I realized how powerful theater can be. I learned that theater can take you anywhere…theater took me somewhere I had never dreamed of going.”
ANTON SPIVACK, 2009 VSA arts Apprentice
Anton Spivack, of New York City, made his theater debut at age 8 in Jerry Herman Tonight. He has a B.A. in Theatre from Bard College at Simon's Rock, where he studied under Karen Beaumont and Karen Allen. The 23-year-old aspiring actor and playwright was a member of the 2007 Theatre Askew Youth Performance Experience, where he began writing his first full-length play, Mixed Messages, based mostly on his own experience with Asperger's Syndrome. Spivack currently seeks to have his play produced, while taking Improvisational Comedy training at the People's Improv Theatre in New York City.
JOHN-PAUL DAMANTE, 2008 VSA arts Apprentice
John-Paul Damante, 20, first caught the acting bug when he took drama classes in middle school. He has since been involved in productions of Dracula and Cyrano de Bergerac. “JP” is completing his sophomore year at the University of San Diego, with a major in human communications and a minor in theater arts. When asked about his love of theater, he says, “Whenever I act or am in front of an audience, I am never happier. Acting is something that I know must be a part of my future.” JP was fitted with his first pair of hearing aids when he was 2 ½ years old. In 2002, he realized living with hearing aids could only help him so much and he decided to undergo surgery and receive a Cochlear implant.
STEPHANIE JORDAN, 2008 VSA arts Apprentice
Stephanie Jordan of Chevy Chase, Maryland, is a theater student at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland. Jordan’s credits include appearances with the Kirov Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, the Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival, and as a Nibelung in the Washington National Opera’s production of Das Rheingold (dir. Francesca Zambello). In addition to her work onstage, Jordan, who has Asperger’s syndrome, has worked backstage as assistant stage manager for Bard Summerscape’s production of Genoveva and Solas Nua’s Scenes from the Big Picture. She also served as a costume technician for several productions at Montgomery College, where her coursework has included ballet, stage direction, vocal performance, and movement. Jordan has high aspirations, “not only to act, but to be able to start my own theater company one day.”
LEE PUGSLEY, 2007 VSA arts Apprentice
Lee Pugsley, 24, of Costa Mesa, Calif., received a B.A. in theater arts from Vanguard University of Southern California in 2006. Pugsley’s considerable and varied theatrical experience includes directorial work (Doubt), acting performance (Othello), and sound design (Three Sisters). In addition, Pugsley served as stage manager for a production of As It Is in Heaven at Vanguard University’s Lyceum Theater, which earned the honor of being selected for participation in the 2005 regional Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. “I am extremely passionate about theater,” says Pugsley, who is legally blind and has glaucoma. “I love the art of creating, breathing life into words on a page… With regard to my disability, I can’t afford to give anything less than 100% if I want to prove myself as a qualified artisan.”
THOMAS HOY, 2007 VSA arts Apprentice
Thomas Hoy is a 20-year-old theater performance major at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. Hoy, who considers acting “both a privilege and incredibly satisfying work,” boasts a theatrical résumé of significant breadth. His performances have included roles as diverse as Carl in Lonely Planet, Haemon in Jean Anouilh’s Antigone, and James Appel in Red Herring. Offstage, Hoy, who has Tourette’s Syndrome, finds the discipline of lighting design and instrumentation “intriguing,” and has served as assistant master electrician and master electrician on various productions. “Theater is something I couldn’t imagine not doing,” he says.
CHRISTOPHER IMBROSCIANO, 2006 VSA arts Apprentice
Christopher Imbrosciano, from South Plainfield, New Jersey, is a 21-year-old junior at Rowan University majoring in theatre arts. Born with cerebral palsy, he discovered the art of theatre at age six when his physical therapist recommended that he explore the performing arts as a way to channel his vivid imagination and sense of humor. His acting resume includes roles in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Three Sisters, Anything Goes, and Oliver, among many others. He is also a skilled theatre technician, specializing in stage management and scenic, properties, and costume construction. “Theatre has been the one constant that has kept me going and encouraged me to accomplish my dreams. Physical therapy and surgeries were forever focused on my disability and what I could not do, but now my life is purely focused on what I can do. Although I have always been defined as having cerebral palsy, cerebral palsy does not define who I am.”
Click here to read an article from the Rowan University website, reporting and celebrating Mr. Imbrosciano's award.
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