Campus Talk: Season 2 - Episode 3

Synopsis

David opens this theater-focused episode with scenes from East Stroudsburg University’s production of Shirley Jackson’s The Bad Children, a modern and mischievous retelling of Hansel and Gretel.

His first guest is Susan O’Hearn, an ESU graduate, professor of theater, professional actress, and director of the production. Susan recalls developing a love for performing as a child and discusses the acting, introductory theater, and children’s theater courses she teaches at the university.

Susan describes directing The Bad Children as one of her most satisfying experiences since joining the faculty. She praises the cast’s dedication and ensemble work, explaining that a successful production depends upon performers supporting one another rather than competing for attention. She also discusses the play’s appeal to both children and adults, noting that its sharp humor never talks down to its younger audience.

The conversation expands into Susan’s approach to choosing and directing plays. She looks for clearly established conflict, truthful examinations of human experience, and stories with universal qualities. She also emphasizes the importance of exposing university audiences to a wide range of classical, modern, and contemporary theater.

Susan explains that acting requires discipline, preparation, and professional standards. Although not every theater student intends to become a professional performer, she believes all students benefit from being held to the same level of commitment expected in the professional world.

David’s next guests are student actors Hannah Tsapatoris and David Shappert, both members of the cast of The Bad Children. Hannah, a sophomore theater major, traces her interest in performing to playing the Velveteen Rabbit in third grade. She later appeared in productions of Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Anything Goes, Antigone, and Twelfth Night before portraying the Witch in The Bad Children.

David, a senior theater major, discusses beginning his acting career in high school with a small role in Annie Get Your Gun. His later credits include Camelot, Punch and Judy, The Servant of Two Masters, and several musicals and community-theater productions. In The Bad Children, he played the unruly Hansel.

Hannah and David explain how Susan helped the cast develop complete characters by considering how each person walked, laughed, stood, behaved, and reacted. They also discuss rehearsals, memorizing dialogue through repetition and cues, their favorite past roles, and the occasional frustration that accompanies performing.

The episode concludes with a preview of upcoming theater productions. David discusses his multiple roles in Vampire Lesbians of Sodom and another experimental play, while Hannah describes her work creating unusual stage makeup. Both students reflect on the excitement of performing before an audience and why, despite its difficulties, theater continues to draw them back.