For a little less than three grand, director Peter DeMaio left his wife and home in Nyack, N.Y. late September. DeMaio will be living in a Baltimore apartment through November in order to direct the Barnstormers' fall production, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
The professional actor was one of more than 40 applicants for the job, according to Barnstormers Business Manager Dave Katz. This is typical: The group interviewed 35 professional applicants for last spring's Tommy.
DeMaio applied after he found the Barnstormers' proposal on the Web. "I'm always looking for opportunities. It just sounded like something that I'd like to be associated with," he said.
That's why directors are willing to do this, according to Kris Jansma, Virginia Woolf public relations coordinator. The pay is "reasonable and it's about standard, but it's not at all worth it, really, in the end. At the end of it, they have the experience."
The Barnstormers hire professional directors for one show per semester. These become "easily the biggest shows that we do all year and certainly the best finished products," said Jansma.
Working with professional directors "helps us learn how to organize our [student-run] studio productions," said Elise Roecker, co-producer of Virgina Woolf and Student Activities Commission (SAC) performing arts liaison. "Most of us are not planning on going into drama or theater, and this is probably the only time in our lives when we'll be able to work with real, live technical directors."
DeMaio said, "We bring a lot of experience to the student body here - professional experience." This learning process is even more vital due to the University's lack of a drama program.
"We fill like we're filling an academic void," said Roecker.
Susan Boswell, dean of Homewood Student Affairs, agreed. "As an educational institution, this sort of 'teaching' is an important part of what we do," she said.
The SAC sees the cost of the director as akin to hiring a coach, which some club sports teams do, said Roecker. While the school is willing to provide the salary, students are responsible for all other arrangements. For instance, as part of an unwritten agreement, the group makes housing accommodations for the director.
"This year was a little bit different because our director [is] much more experienced," said co-Producer David Klein, who found the Mount Vernon apartment in which DeMaio is now living. The Barnstormers felt an experienced director was necessary due to the complexity of the play.
"In the past, we've had directors who are fresh out of college, and they're like, whatever, we can crash on your couch," said Klein.
One director last year wound up moving in with a grad student he'd met at a cast party, noted Katz. "That had nothing to do with us," he said.
For the director, this means living with the amenities that college students can provide.
"We found a director that's going to take chairs from our house," said Roecker. "He's getting a loan of stuff that was handed down through college students."
"This situation is maybe a little different than I've worked under before," said DeMaio. "This is a student group. I didn't get hired under the University."
At universities with drama departments, the school is responsible for contracts and living arrangements, according to Roecker.
"Most people I find compare us and our situation to community theater workshops, maybe with small theater companies," said Roecker.
It really is like running a professional theater, according to Klein. "You have to worry about everything," he said.
Worries aside, professionalism seems to be the group's goal.
"Most people aren't going to see a Center Stage production downtown," said Klein. "For a lot of people on campus, it's the only theater opportunity they're going to get."
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf will be at the Black Box in the Mattin Center from Nov. 9-11 and 16-18.
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