Followed By a Bear presents Night of Scenes.
Emily Graham ’20 contributed to this story.
Followed By a Bear, St. Joe’s student-run theatre company, put on their annual themed Night of Scenes on March 23.
The theme was “What’s the Password?”, with students who were interested in submitting a script having to incorporate the phrase in their writing.
The group’s executive board wanted to find a phrase that was relevant and had both positive and negative connotations, according to treasurer Kayla Evangelisto ’19.
Evangelisto, who also directed the scene “The Soccer Moms” ,added that the creativity shown by the writers was incredible because everybody had a unique take on the phrase.
In the eight scenes that were performed, some scenes used the phrase in a comedic way, while others were more dramatic.
Erin Denenberg ’19 acted in a scene entitled “Deadline” and also submitted a script of her own, “Woman to Woman,” one of the more serious scenes in the show.
“[Woman to Woman] sort of stemmed from the ‘Me Too’ movement…I think it’s important that women support each other,” Denenberg said about the latter scene, which sees a novelist confront and later sympathize with her husband’s mistress.
Preparation for the Night of Scenes was a collaborative effort. The process involved script submissions, script workshopping, director selections, auditions, and weekly rehearsals.
Tom Smith ’18, president of Followed By a Bear, said he enjoyed watching the scenes develop.
“For the most part, it was the executive board’s job to throw the night together,”
Smith said. “I got to see the scenes come together from the beginning, which was really cool. The go through a lot of growth.”
Despite numerous challenges, including the placement of spring break and snow days, Evangelisto said the company still pulled off the event.
“We always have a pretty dedicated bunch…I mean, you never can ask for more than that. People just really care a lot, which is really nice,” Denenberg said.
Anthony Paparo ’18 has been involved with the group since his freshman year, and directed the scene “Set Up” for “What’s the Password?” Paparo said Followed By A Bear is made up of talented and dedicated students, and that as a senior, he is assured that the company will continue to be successful.
“The company should be in good capable hands, so I’m excited to see what they’ll do in the future,” Paparo said.
Even though there was a large audience and positive feedback, Followed By a Bear always strives to expand their audience and their members.
“We will never not want to talk to anybody,” Evangelisto said. “We want as many people that want to be involved to be able to be involved in the arts, because everybody should be able to follow their passions.”
