"Rumors" features three Southeast seniors in their final roles

Final bow has never meant more to three theater students at Southeast Missouri State University. Of the 10 students in the cast of Neil Simon's "Rumors," three of them are graduating seniors who will end their run at Southeast with the comedic play, which starts Wednesday and runs through March 28.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday to March 27 and 2 p.m. March 28. Tickets are $13 from the box office, calling 651-2265, or at www.metrotix.com.

The play, in the Rust Flexible Theatre, stars Desmond Gray as Ken Gorman, who with his wife is attending a dinner party for the deputy mayor of New York's anniversary. A coverup begins when the Gormans and three other couples show up to find that the deputy mayor has shot himself in the head -- 'tis merely a flesh wound -- and his wife and house staff are missing. The rest of the play unfolds with more and more overlapping and twisted stories the audience can see through, but the characters keep spinning.

Marisa Rapp, Carly Earl, Cooper Stevens, Abby Vatterott, Jake Ferree, Dominique Thomas and Shinea Farrell play the other couples and the two officers. Graduating seniors Gray, Audrey Stanfield and Scott Hamann play Ken and Chris Gorman and Lenny Ganz, respectively.

SE Live asked these departing seniors for some final words to go with their final bows.

'I AM AN ACTRESS'

"What do you do?" is a question I have often been asked throughout the course of my last four years at Southeast. For the first time in those four years, I have begun to ponder the true answer, and I can confidently reply after my years of training and experience: "I am an actress." To say those words means something more to me than I can express.

I enrolled at Southeast as a business major -- a decision made hastily. After auditioning for the fall theater show, getting called back and not getting cast, I developed a hunger, a thirst for the craft. I quickly changed my major to acting/directing.

I began my college run with "42nd Street" in the Rose Theatre during the last semester of my freshman year. As a person who has trouble keeping a simple beat, I learned to tap dance at a rate I never thought possible. The show was both gratifying and an indication of the hard work to come. Sophomore year I was cast in the first show to open on the Rust Flexible Theatre, "Coyote Ugly." Then, I was cast as Meg Magrath in "Crimes of the Heart," my favorite role to date at Southeast. I loved my character and identified with her, which always brings a character to life.

In the summer before my junior year, I went to New York City for the Herbert-Berghoff Studio's "Hagen Summer Intensive," which shaped and improved my abilities in more ways than I even knew possible and made me realize we never stop learning, growing and discovering ways to improve.

I will make my final bows on the stages of Southeast with "Rumors." The chemistry, comedy and energy between the actors are unsurpassed to any show I have yet to be in.

After graduation, I plan on moving to New York City to pursue a career in acting. I would be lying if I said I wasn't frightened of moving on from college; however, my passion for acting and my pursuit of excellence outweigh it tenfold and I can confidently leave here knowing that something truly special awaits.

~ Audrey Stanfield

FALLING INTO PLACE

Arriving at your last semester in college fills you with a boatload of emotion. Happy to have made it, nervous about what's to come, excited about what's to come, and sad to leave a comfort zone. I've had the privilege to perform on stage at Southeast a number of times, but I'm really looking forward to my last show, "Rumors."

This ridiculously funny play is a great way to bookend my time here. It's a little ironic seeing as my first and last shows at Southeast were straight plays, everything in between were musicals. I have had a blast working and playing with some of the most talented people in the department for this production. We challenge each other and pull out our best. Dr. Kenneth Stilson, our director, continues to amaze me with his ability to inspire his actors.

"Rumors" is nonstop energy, acting and reacting.

My time at Southeast has been outstanding -- ups and downs, good grades and not-so-good grades, roles I was happy to get and roles I wish I got. Every experience taught me a new lesson, cliche as that may sound. Probably my most challenging role has been Jim in "Big River." I came into the rehearsal later than everyone else, and it pushed my acting and my singing more than any other show I think.

I've been able to try and do everything I could possibly want and a lot of my hands-on experience wouldn't have happened anywhere else. The theater department has been a lab for me to create and explore. Thinking about graduation and my future gets me pumped because I'll get to use every skill I've learned at Southeast to build a career for myself.

After graduation I have a summer gig in the ensemble of "Aida" at Bailiwick Chicago Theatre. After that, I want to keep working, training and performing. And maybe start my own theater company. My journey to success won't resemble anyone else's. This is one of the most important lessons we can learn as actors -- professionals for that matter. Do what you do best, the very best you can and everything will fall into place.

~ Desmond Gray

Always learning

I decided when the River Campus opened in 2007, I would dive back into acting full-on. Since I already had a degree from Southeast, I could focus on classes that dealt primarily with performing. I took or retook every class involving performing and have been fortunate with the opportunity to play a variety of characters in the last few years: Pap Finn in "Big River," Sgt. Toomey in "Biloxi Blues," Feste in "Twelfth Night" and now Lenny Ganz in "Rumors." After the first year or so of being back in school, I knew that I had made the right decision going back.

The role in "Rumors" is as close to a "normal" character as I've ever played, which in many ways can prove to be more difficult for an actor when trying to be truthful on stage. Working on the comic timing, which is important in this production, has been a great learning experience. I wanted to be in a larger role directed by Dr. Kenneth Stilson, a professor in the department of theater and dance, and also to do a show in the more intimate Rust Flexible Theatre. The space affects every choice you make on stage.

Being part of the department this time around has been a great experience. More attention is given to career development. With auditioning and marketing yourself, you've got to know what to do and how to do it when you get out into the real world. The kinds of jobs students from this department are getting shows that what they're teaching is working.

The most important advice that I can give to anyone coming into this department, or any training program in acting for that matter, is to realize that a good actor knows that he or she is never finished training. I'm starting this career at almost 40. I've been doing this for 20 years, and I make new discoveries all the time. I look forward to further training. I would also say to focus on the work that you are doing on stage. Focus on doing what you have been taught and continue to learn. If your goal in acting is fame and fortune, you're doing it for the wrong reasons.

~ Scott Hamann