College roommates, theatre majors, finish UAA with big roles in 'Stalking the Bogeyman'

Ray Stewart and Chris Evans are seniors this semester, but they hardly have that faraway look that comes over students transitioning to the next chapter in their life. Instead, they couldn't be busier or more focused. Both will finish out their successful UAA college careers with key roles in the spring production of "Stalking the Bogeyman."

Ray, an East High graduate who started with theatre on that nearby campus, is the assistant scenic designer for the Bogeyman production, creating hanging panels on the set that collect elements from the central character's memories. Palimsest is the key word, meaning layers upon layers.

Chris, from Kodiak, is playing the dark role of the Bogeyman, a challenge he finds rewarding because the play draws serious attention to an important issue, sexual violence. "We have a huge problem in Alaska with it. It [the events in the play] also happened in Alaska, to a real person in Alaska," he said. "It's relevant to everyone."

Chris was a theatre and English major who slipped away from English. "I just got so involved in theatre," he said. Ray was a biology major who gravitated to theatre out of personal interest and never looked back.

Choosing UAA

They both say they chose UAA for practical reasons-affordable tuition. Now at the apex of their college careers, both say they got from UAA something that would have been harder to wrestle from a larger program. They got time and attention.

"Maybe those [Outside] schools have slightly more funding and more professors," said Chris. "But what's really good about UAA is the attention you can get. If you want to be in theatre you need a lot of attention to grow your skills before you can become marketable."

With a cohort of under 50 fellow theatre students, Chris and Ray say the committed theatre student here can get as much direction and focused guidance as he or she wants and needs.

"There is plenty of room in this department if you want to do something," Ray said. "You can get very, very involved."

Added Chris, "Just talk to the faculty. Tell them what you want and they'll help you work toward that."

To spread that word locally, UAA theatre has started to reach out to high school drama departments, placing its experienced students as CESAs, or community-engaged student assistants. Ray did a stint at his old high school alma mater, and Chris spent time with West High drama students.

"There was this tendency among Anchorage kids, that if you were really serious about theatre, you had to go Outside," said Ray. "Teachers would advise them to apply out of state. But now, I think with this outreach, there's a growing awareness that you can stay right here and get a good theatre degree, and not destroy your undergraduate budget."

Under the same roof

Besides both working long hours in the scene shop together, these two have shared various apartments and third-wheel roommates. Naturally, they've struggled with the classic shared-space, shared-rent problems common to college students-like keeping the darn place clean. Both remember a roommate who always managed to avoid any and all cleaning. When confronted, he'd blame the mess on anyone but himself.

Ray laughs: "We were both vegans. And the mess we'd be talking to him about would be a bunch of McDonald's bags. It was obviously him."

If there are downsides to group living, the upsides have been far more helpful. The two theatre majors say they found support and understanding in each other's commitment and dedication to their shared art form.

"Other people don't quite understand us, like why we come home so late," said Chris.  "They always want to ask, 'Where have you been, why are you always staying so late to work on things?' ... I like living with theatre people. They understand."

They also like living close to campus (up on 42nd Avenue right now), so you can get to campus fast when you get the call, or the journey home after a long work stint is mercifully short.

I wondered if being roommates means they end up "talking shop" 24/7-whether that be challenges on a current production, department politics or even personal achievements or disappointments. All they could think of were the benefits of their mutual deep connection to theatre.

"As artists, we tend to push each other," said Ray. "We can say, 'This doesn't work, how about trying this?'  We bounce ideas off each other. We strive for something better than we could achieve on our own."

Chris was right there. "We are good at speaking our opinion on something and giving our criticism to help make it better. Not negative criticism, but maybe, 'Try this, work on it this way...'"

Catalytic moments

I asked each of them, if they had to choose one moment (besides Stalking the Bogeyman) that was critical to their development, what would it be.

The answer was easy for Ray.

"Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead from last year," he said, referring to the absurdist, existential tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard. "That was the year of 'the façade' [more on that later] and we were both involved in that. I was still working in the costume shop and the scene shop. I was in the show and I was building the set in my free time. I was the properties master and designer and assistant costume designer. I wore many, many hats."

So was that a good experience?

"It was a lot of hard work," he said, "but when you throw yourself out there and try all these different things...you can branch out too far so you can't do any of the well. So it's a very good teaching experience. After that, you can say, 'OK, I need to focus in on something that I really like,' and you know what that is."

Chris had two pivotal experiences, one in tech and one in acting. On the tech side, he loved building the façade during the 'year of the façade.' The same set was re-purposed for all three shows that year. "Particularly Twelfth Night, because that was when we built everything and that one was the most traditional," he said. And he acted in that show as well.

For acting, he chose "When You Coming Back Red Ryder," a play by Mark Medoff set in a highway diner that loses most of its customers when a new highway bypass opens.

"I got the lead in that play as a sophomore," Chris said. "From the acting standpoint, that's in the vein of theatre I really enjoy-drama and realism. I'm glad we got to do it, and it was a very good cast."

Stalking the Bogeyman

Both are pleased to participate in the final theatre production of the year, for a number of different reasons. Ray said he has really enjoyed the creative challenge of layering memory references of the main character onto the panels hanging over each of three scene areas on the set.

"Stage right is always David Holthouse's apartment. So on a hanging panel behind it we have these elements, like a '70s throwback reference to Garfield [the cartoon cat], abstracts of people looking in a mirror and seeing monstrous reflections of themselves-so gross abstract body horror art. Juxtaposed with drug use, some gonzo journalism images. I have a picture of Hunter S. Thompson...so things Holthouse would be obsessing over, or things going through his life in this apartment."

Ray also appreciated the challenge in helping build a set that could travel. Under direction of the technical director and tour manager, Dan Calgren, the team is building metal modular platforms that easily collapse and are lightweight enough to move when the show tours this summer.

"Essentially we made these forms, like a metal tabletop, 4 X 8 feet, modular and easy to make into different configurations. We built twelve of them and all are being used in this show," he said. Different leg lengths mean the platforms can be placed at ground level or as high as 40 inches.

Chris plays the dark role of the Bogeyman. He says he finds the role rewarding because he's part of bringing awareness to a serious issue affecting Alaska. "We talk about humanizing the statistics. That's what this play can do," he said.

Both mentioned the strength of partnerships ongoing between departments at UAA and in the community. "Psychology is a big one. There are multiple studies going on," said Chris. "One is how this type of theatre, very community-based, can have an effect on people. Can it actually instigate change?"

They both especially like working on a production that is still fluid. In contrast to 300-year-old plays, this modern production is still adjusting and settling. "We have a new character, Molly. And some of the work we have done through blocking and staging has actually affected the script," Chris said.

Leaving the nest

Carlgren, who stopped by during their interview, had only compliments for the two seniors.

"Both of them are on it," he said. "Both of them are stand-up guys. We're going to miss having them here, me especially. Not just for their hard work, but for the camaraderie. They're a couple of really great kids."

For their part, both say UAA has added strong and useful ePortfolio requirements that help students actively document progress throughout the program. Whether in tech or acting, these are important supporting documents and tools when leaping into the job market.

Ray just learned last week that he's accepted into a three-year graduate M.F.A. theatre program at San Diego State University. Chris is applying to graduate school, too, but not until he takes a well-earned break after touring with the show this summer. He's headed for some downtime in Wisconsin, he said, but mentions looking for opportunities with the state's largest and best known theatre company, the Milwaukee Repertory Theater.

Asked for useful advice upcoming theatre students can really use, they were again of like minds: Get involved. Try everything early on, then focus.

Said Chris: "I would suggest that all incoming freshmen, by the end of the year, have a talk with faculty about what it is you want to get out of here, how you can reach your goals. They can really  help you get there."

Written by Kathleen McCoy, UAA Office of University Advancement