(Editor's note: This story is the second in a series looking at our students and alums as they work in a professional theater)
If you looked at the program for Silverthorne Theater’s Sanctuary City, which begins week two of its run on Thursday, you could be forgiven for thinking at first glance that it’s a UMass Theater production. Many of the names in the cast and creative team, as well as the behind-the-scenes folks, are connected to the department as alumni, current students, faculty, and staff.
This small but vibrant professional theater company was co-founded in 2014 by the late Lucinda Kidder, an alumna of our graduate MFA program, and it has become a keystone of the Western Massachusetts theater culture. Since the beginning, the folks running the company have been intimately acquainted with the benefits of a UMass Theater education. Hiring theater artists and technicians who speak a common artistic language makes sense, and for those newer to the field, working with the company provides an atmosphere that is both challenging and supportive as they take their first professional steps.
We reached out to some of team involved in Sanctuary City to ask them some questions about the production and the connection to UMass Theater.
In our previous story, we checked in with two folks connected to our MFA program about their experience. This time around, we're hearing from the undergrad area, with recent alum Cáleb Koval, who is an actor in this production, as well as John Misch, who is a current student interning as an assistant stage manager with the show.
Read on for their perspectives about working in this professional context.
John Misch, undergraduate major, Sanctuary City's stage manager
Question: What’s your role on this show? Is this your first time working with Silverthorne? If you’ve worked with them in the past, was it in a similar or different role?
Misch: I’m the Assistant Stage Manager for Sanctuary City. This is my first production with Silverthorne, and it’s been a great experience working with such a talented team.
Question: What excites you most about this production?
Misch: The story feels incredibly relevant right now. It explores immigration, identity, and friendship in a way that is both timely and deeply human.
Question: So many folks working on this production are current or past UMass Theater folks. Does having that common background make a difference in the way you approach the process?
Misch: Definitely. There’s already a sense of trust and collaboration that comes from having worked and trained together, which makes the process feel very supportive.
Question: And from the other side: how is working on a show in the community different than working in an academic setting?
Misch: In an academic setting, the focus is often on learning and experimentation. In professional theater, there’s a stronger emphasis on bringing together artists with different experiences to create something for an audience.
Question: What are three words you’d say to a potential audience member to pique their interest in the show?
Misch: Timely. Powerful. Human.
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Cáleb Koval, undergraduate major alum, actor in Sanctuary City
Question: What’s your role on this show? Is this your first time working with Silverthorne? If you’ve worked with them in the past, was it in a similar or different role?
Koval: My name is Cáleb Koval, and I am a New York based actor/musician born and raised in Western Massachusetts. I play the character of “B” in this production of Sanctuary City. This is not my first time working with Silverthorne Theatre, last years I was “Brom” in The Amateurs.
Question: What excites you most about this production?
Koval: A lot! I mostly do musical theatre in my career so I can always count on the team at Silverthorne to throw me into a long and heartbreaking play. This role and this play are so important, and the story is really something that needs to be explored especially in our current political climate… also I like money.
Question: So many folks working on this production are current or past UMass Theater folks. Does having that common background make a difference in the way you approach the process?
Koval: Not really, I feel UMass and by extension the other colleges do a great job preparing their directors and technicians for what a professional space looks like. It helps that these people are already my friends (I was DELIGHTED to finally be able to work so closely with Rose), but really for me it didn’t change the environment much compared at any other regional.
Question: And from the other side: how is working on a show in the community different than working in an academic setting?
Koval: It’s a long time since I did a show in a college academia setting… while I was college I was booking work in summerstock theatres or at theme parks or just smaller professionals in the area. A good chunk of junior year in college was working at the Majestic Theatre doing Buddy: the Buddy Holly Story. This all being said, I believe that is a testament to level of skill UMass brings out of there directors and technicians. The curriculum commands you to prioritize professionalism while providing room for play.
Question: What are three words you’d say to a potential audience member to pique their interest in the show?
Koval: Love, Truth, Chicken-Parm
Photos courtesy of Silverthorne Theater. Top photo, John Misch, center views a scene during rehearsal for Sanctuary City. Lower photo, Cáleb Koval during rehearsal.