Malik El-Amin:
So, I am first going to tell you about who we have the pleasure and joy of speaking with as panelists today, and then I'll hand it over to my colleague who will be moderating the remainder of the discussion. I'm going to start by introducing Bonita J. Hamilton. She has been lauded for her role as Shenzi, the hyena in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, The Lion King. Bonita J. Hamilton is a highly decorated actress, singer, voiceover artist, and speaker. Her 15-year tenure on Broadway also includes three Broadway workshops for The Color Purple, The Legend of Stagecoach Mary and Mandela the Musical.
Malik El-Amin:
Her voiceover performances include roles on ESPN's NBA Countdown, Marvel's Wolverine Podcast, and commercials for Marzetti, Walmart and Novartis. She has done work on Academy Award nominated film, Can You Ever Forgive Me? And, the animated series Through the Woods. Hamilton has performed solo as a vocalist on Good Morning America and at NBA games. Her body of work also includes recurring roles on HBO's The Knick, and NBC's Manifest. She holds a BA from Alabama State University and an MFA from Brandeis University. Hamilton is a certified teacher and practitioner of Frank Silvera's being acting technique. She mentors high school students as well as students from her undergraduate alma mater. That is Bonita J. Hamilton and we are thrilled to pieces. We do that, we could do that. Yes, to have her here with us.
Malik El-Amin:
I see that we've lost my picture because it's going to my other one, okay. The next person that we have the pleasure and joy of bringing to you today is Dev Bondarin. Now, she graduated from Brandeis with a BA in theater arts and art history. She's based in New York City and holds an MFA in directing from Brooklyn College. She's the Artistic Director of Astoria Performing Arts Center, and the Associate Artistic Director of Prospect Theater Company. She is also a freelance director of new and established plays and musicals. Recent credits at Astoria Performing Arts Center include directing a revival of Caroline, or Change, which received the AUDELCO Viv Award for Best Musical Revival in 2019. And, she's directed the NYC premiere of a solo musical, Marguerite, starring Tony winner Cady Huffman. With Prospect Theater Company, Dev produces and directs and annual musical theater lab, which commissions musical theater writers to write new, short musicals all on essential theme. That is Dev Bondarin and we're so excited to have her with us as well today.
Malik El-Amin:
The third out of four panelists is Denitsa Bliznakova. She's a professional costume designer and a full professor at San Diego State University. At SDSU, she's head of the Graduate Design and Technology Program in the School of Theater, TV and Film. Denitsa's theater design work has been seen nationwide in venues including, here's a list: the Geffen Playhouse, Mark Taper Forum, Old Globe Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, South Coast Rep, Pasadena Playhous, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the Kennedy Center, Cleveland Play House, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and others. She has worked all over the place. Denitsa's work for opera includes productions at the Los Angeles Opera, San Diego Opera, and Santa Fe Opera. Costume design credits for other media include films and music videos. Denitsa has Nominations for Outstanding Costume Design from the LA Stage Alliance and Colorado Theatre Guild. She was also the 2020 recipient of a Custom Design Award from the Custom Society of America. That is Denitsa Bliznakova, and she is with us this evening as well.
Malik El-Amin:
Our final panelist is Renita Martin. She's a critically acclaimed author, thespian, musician, and producer. She has appeared in Off-Broadway, regional and international theater productions, as well as independent films and broadcast television. Renita is the author of Rhythm Visions Never Do Be Finished. I love saying that title. Rhythm Visions Never Do Be Finished, and Shotgun Wedding published by Samuel French. She has contributed to several anthologies and written music for various media, including the currently running podcasts, Who Yo People Is? Some of her award-winning plays include Five Bottles in a Six-Pack, Lo She Comes, and Blue Fire on the Water. Renita's numerous awards include Ebony Magazine's and Pine Sol's Unsung Hero Award, the Telly Award for best music video, and the All Out Art's Fruitee Award for Outstanding Play among others.
Malik El-Amin:
Renita is the founding director of Rhythm Visions Production Company, and serves as a guest artist at Brown University's Rites and Reason Theatre. And she just had one line that I had to include here in the bio and the introduction. I think it speaks for actually many of us here tonight. Renita adores the living artist and is blessed and inspired by her vibrant peers. She is honored to be creating at this moment, during the soul-defining times. That is Renita Martin folks. We are so thrilled and pleased to have her here with us this evening.
Malik El-Amin:
The last piece of work that I have to do with you this evening is to introduce you to my colleague who will be moderating the discussion. That is none other than Michelle Simone Miller. She also comes out of Brandeis and is a NYC-based actress with credits in television, film, commercials and Off-Broadway. More interestingly probably for her in this moment, is that she is also the host of Mentors on the Mic Podcast, which has featured with quite a number of notable Brandeis alumni in the field of entertainment. Without any further ado, I hand you over to the very capable Michelle Simone Miller.
Michelle Miller:
Wow, wow. Thank you so much Malik. Those intros, those bios were fantastic, and thank you Malik. We really spearheaded this event together, but he did so much in getting these incredible panelists, so thank you Malik for everything. I want to make sure that he gets his due because he's phenomenal as a person, and as a theater artist. So, thank you guys all for coming. Thank you to the panelists for doing this. This is going to be an incredible event. It's entitled, How to Break Into and Move Up in Theater. We're going to cover a lot of ground. I wanted to give us an idea of what the agenda will be, so for the next few minutes, I'm going to do an intro to the arts alumni too.
Michelle Miller:
We're going to do some polling questions to get our audience engaged and to see where they're coming from, what they're really interested in, in this panel. If at any point in the entire event, I want you to write in the chat box below. There's a chat feature. Just write some questions, write some feedback, be engaged with us. I'm going to give us about 15 minutes at the end, so between, I'm going to do Eastern Standard Time. 8:00 to 8:15, or Pacific it would be 5:00 to 5:15, just sone ... No, that's not right. Yeah, whatever. Anyway, yeah that's right. So, just a little bit of a question and answer period to ask the panelists.
Michelle Miller:
And then what else? We're going to go over how these wonderful people started in the industry, how they moved up. And if at any time along the way if you have any questions, feel free to send them over. We're going to cover a lot. Right now in terms of polling questions, we really wanted to know, Are you a Brandeis student? Are you a graduate? Are you just a family friend or interested in Brandeis events? If you maybe saw the Facebook group or saw an email from a friend. We just wanted to have an idea of who's out there. Who are you guys? This is also being recorded so if at any point you want to send this later to someone and say, "Hey, this was a really great theater panel that covered a lot of really great information," please feel free to do that. They're going to give us the wonderful results soon.
Michelle Miller:
In the meanwhile, the Brandeis Arts Network is a group exclusive to Brandeis undergraduate and graduate alumni, that enables anyone involved in the arts, both professionals and enthusiasts alike to engage, share, and experience the vast array of artistic endeavors of fellow Brandeisians on campus, across the country and abroad. The Brandeis Arts Network also encompasses and supports the efforts of the Performing Arts Network, and the Brandeis Alumni in Film and Television, great. So, we seem to have mostly Brandeis graduates, lovely. We have a lovely alumni here. Then it's pretty even on current students and others. Thank you guys so much, we have a good idea of who's out there. That really helps us figure out what we want to be able to focus on.
Michelle Miller:
And then also, why are you here? Are you interested in starting a career in theater? Are you interested in growing your career in theater? Do you want to maybe pivot to a different area in theater? Do you just have a general interest, which is wonderful? Or, if you just wanted to support Brandeis Arts, we appreciate you. The reason also I wanted to bring up our Brandeis Arts Network message or statement is because we're trying to put these events for you guys. I don't know if you've been active or been a part of this. We had a film TV panel not too long ago, we had a networking event and entertainment.
Michelle Miller:
Then we did another where we featured a filmmaker's short film and we discussed how he created it, what's to come from it. It's on Amazon right now, I highly suggest it. So we want to hear from you guys, what other events did you want to do? We've heard people say, "We want a theater panel," so we've put that together. So as you answer this, if there's any ... At any point if you think, "I have an idea for an event," please write down in the chat box, send us a message, we are available everywhere. We'll talk about ways to reach us later. So, why are you here? Let's find out. So, mostly a little bit more I'm interested in starting a career in theater, great. I'm interested in growing my career in theater. General interest, to support Brandeis Arts. We love it. It's pretty even mostly. Love it. Thank you guys. All right, here we go. So, we have a lovely array of people here. Did we lose someone? I don't know if we see ... There we go Renita, is here.
Renita Martin:
For some reason, I lost my video here.
Michelle Miller:
Okay, great. So, thank you guys again for coming, for being a part of this. If you guys want to ... You can unmute yourself either before you speak or during, whatever you feel like. Let's start with Dev. Dev, how did you start in the industry? What was your first role either out of Brandeis, or in entertainment? How did you get involved?
Dev Bondarin:
That's a great question. I've been thinking about that. So, I majored in Theater and Art History at Brandeis as an undergrad, and I was really involved both in department shows, but also in the undergraduate theater clubs. And definitely earlier on in my work in New York off Off-Broadway, I would often tell people that it was really both of those experiences, but the on-the-ground work with the theater clubs that really prepared me for self-producing and for putting things together the way that the club's operated. That was really excellent experience. So if there's anyone out there who's been part of an undergraduate theater club, it mirrors putting on your own work pretty well, get ready. That was a really big help.
Dev Bondarin:
I did everything in undergrad. I designed sets, we don't need to talk about that. I stage managed, I produced, and then I decided I wanted to direct. That was the last thing that I came to, and it was really useful that I had all of the experiences before that because it really gave me a greater understanding of all the necessary elements that go into putting on a show and everyone's job, et cetera. And when I graduated, directing work is hard to come by right away so I went into stage management. I actually stage managed in the Brandeis Theater Department for a year, and then decided I didn't want to be a stage manager anymore. I got an internship at a theater company in Maine, and I moved up to Maine where it's even colder than Boston. I lived there for almost a year doing and directing a dramaturgy program, which allowed me to assist. That was a really big, new thing for me and really wonderful experience
Dev Bondarin:
From there, I applied to grad school. I grew up in New York City and knew that I was eventually going to move back there. Yes, exactly, that I was going to move back to New York. So I applied to Brooklyn College, which was part of the City University system. And literally my one break from the internship program in Maine, I interviewed with the head of the department and got into the program. It was the only program I applied to so I thought, "Well, I'm going back to New York anyway, so let's see what this is." So I went to Brooklyn College two years after undergrad, where I got a lot of hands-on experience because the program is in New York City. There is a lot of opportunity to meet people and to be seeing shows, and to research where your groove is, where your people are.
Dev Bondarin:
While I had a lot of good experiences during grad school, I was also able to get to know some of the companies in New York. And actually, the company that I'm the associate artistic director of, I started working with them ... For all undergraduates out there, this is true. I started working with them as an intern, my second year of grad school. That was a really pivotal thing that happened, that at the time I had no idea. I thought I was doing this semester-long gig and I was going to maybe work with them again.
Dev Bondarin:
I really hit it off with the head of the company, who is still the head of the company and a dear friend and it led to now 15 years of collaboration with this wonderful company, and it's really that company that put me in the position that I was in to be able to feel ready to apply for the artistic director position that I have. I also met my significant other, who's now my husband through that company and so you never know how these things go together. A lot of other things that happened along the way, but it was Brandeis, to Maine, to Prospect, to Astoria, to other things.
Michelle Miller:
That's amazing. First of all, that's great that not only did you meet your partner, but you have this lifelong relationship with the theater company. You don't see that all the time. And, that you stay New York. I'm definitely going to pivot back to you because I definitely want to hear how you moved up at Prospect and also with Astoria. But it's really great I think for people to know, out of Brandeis, what was the next step, which was that you were an assistant director for, I think, a year you said in Maine?
Dev Bondarin:
Yeah, it was almost a year. It was a year-long program.
Michelle Miller:
And that was at the Vineyard Theatre was it?
Dev Bondarin:
No, it was at Portland Stage Company. Although-
Michelle Miller:
We have a lot of Mainers here.
Dev Bondarin:
I did assist at the Vineyard, so you read my-
Michelle Miller:
Oh, okay. Yeah, cool. I was like, "I think that was it." Then you went to grad school, and then that's when you started as an intern. I think that's super important. Awesome, wonderful. Thank you. Then let's go to Bonita. How did you start right out of ... I mean, you got your MFA at Brandeis. What was your first initial step into theater after, or even before that?
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
Let's see. Hi, everyone. Before I got to Brandeis, I had been working at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. I graduated from Alabama State University and I started ... I got my ... Actually, I started with the American Negro Playwright Theatre in Nashville. Then I started doing work at ASF, and then Dr. Tommie Tonea Stewart, who was my mentor and she was the Director of Theater at Alabama State when I was there, she told me, "You need to go to graduate school." You need to hone in on the craft if you are serious about it, and that was the best ... She said, "Michael Murray is coming, and you're going to audition for him." I said, "But Dr. Stewart, I have to ... No, I have to work. I have to go here and do this, and I did jet set."
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
So I auditioned for Michael, I came to Brandeis and it was one of the best decisions that I have ever made in my life. Two weeks out of grad school, I booked Ain't Misbehavin at the Capitol Repertory Theater in Albany, New York. And while I was doing Capitol ... That was two weeks out of graduate school. Two months out of graduate school, I had an audition while I was doing Ain't Misbehavin for the Lion King and The Color Purple world premiere in the same day, and I booked both of them in the same day.
Michelle Miller:
Oh, my God.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
So, I had to make this decision and I called Dr. Stewart. I said, "Dr. Stewart, what should I do?" I said, "The Lion King or The Color Purple, which I will be originating a role. It's a brand new thing and every actor wants to originate a role," and Dr. Stewart said, "Lion King." And I said, "But Dr. Stewart, it's going to be at the Alliance Theater. It's going to be amazing, and everybody who does the role behind me has to do it just like me." And she said, "Lion King. Call me when you sign your contracts." I said, "Well, all right."
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
So two months after I graduated from Brandeis University, I'd booked my first Broadway show which ... Well, actually two; The Color Purple and The Lion King. I decided to go with The Lion King and I've been doing the role of Shenzi, the principal role of Shenzi, which people don't know who Shenzi is. If you've ever seen the movie, it's the Whoopi Goldberg character. She's the head hyena. Then six months after I booked that, I booked ... They called me to do The Color Purple Broadway workshop, pre-Broadway workshop. So there it is.
Michelle Miller:
That's phenomenal. Actually, this made me think of a question. Can you take me ... I didn't know both of those auditions were the same day.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
Same day.
Michelle Miller:
Can you take me through that day?
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
Oh, my God. I would be more than happy to.
Michelle Miller:
The actor in me is like, "What?"
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
The off day at the Albany Rep, I think it was Sunday, and so my auditions were Monday. So I drove down Sunday night from Brooklyn where ... Actually, I met my husband at Brandeis. We just celebrated 15 years of marriage. Dev's a new newlywed and congratulations, but-
Michelle Miller:
Congratulations Dev.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
A lot of good things came out of Brandeis. So I drove down Sunday night, Monday I had to prepare. I had never ridden the subway before. I'm from Montgomery, Alabama. So New York was this whole new thing. But my husband's mother and my husband, they prepare me, they put me on the three train to Times Square. I went in for the ... I was dressed completely for The Color Purple audition. I walked in and the casting director Mark Brandon said, "Okay, Shenzi isn't cute. Kick those heels off." I was so adorable with my dress and my makeup and everything. He said, "Kick those heels off and let's get to work."
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
He said, "Did you learn both parts?" I said, "No, I learned Shenzi. I'm auditioning for Shenzi." And he said, "Okay." So we read, I sang. He said, "You know what? I'm going to call you back." And I said, "Oh, okay." He said, "Come back this afternoon for the puppet audition." And I said, "Oh, okay." So I came back ... No, no, no. He said, "Come back for the creative team." It doesn't happen like that. Usually it happens a few days later. So I came back for ... I left that audition and I went to The Color Purple audition and they said, "We're going to call you back." I said, "Oh, okay."
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
So I went to Brooklyn, I changed clothes into Chuck Taylors and a T-shirt, got back. I met with the creative team for The Lion King. They said, "We want to call you back for a puppet audition." That was an hour later. I said, "Okay, I'll hang out," and I did the puppet audition. I put the puppet on. My puppet is 30 pounds and I walked out of that audition and I said, "That is one job I do not have to get." So the next day, I got a call saying I had a meeting with Linda Twine for The Color Purple. I said, "Okay, but I have to get back to Albany because I have a seven o'clock curtain." So I was on the FDR, I went, I did the audition.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
I got back to Brooklyn, and for some reason I was weeping uncontrollably on the subway, listening to the music from both shows. I don't know why, but I was. So I said, "Well, it's in your hands. Whatever happens will happen." I got in the car, I was on the FDR driving back to Albany to make a seven o'clock curtain, and I got a call from my agent and she said, "You have booked The Color Purple." Then when I hit Albany, she said, "You have booked The Lion King on Broadway."
Michelle Miller:
Oh my God. Now that's a story.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
Easter famine for me. So, that's how-
Michelle Miller:
There is so much to unpack there. I had one more quick question before we move on because it's all about how you started. How did you get that agent? I know a lot of actors out here want to know.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
How did I get the agent?
Michelle Miller:
It's always a catch-22.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
Brandeis again, actually. I did a showcase. We had a Boston showcase and we had a New York showcase. At that time my agent, they were Kazarian/Spencer & Associates. I did the showcase, and I think her assistant was there actually. She called me in based upon what her assistant told her Laurie Swift. She said, "I would really like to meet with you, and I said, "Okay. I was auditioning for Beehive at the Kennedy Center and I had received a call back, so I went in saying, "Well, I have a callback for this," to let her know that I can work, I can book something. Yeah, that's basically it. Through my showcase, which was so helpful.
Michelle Miller:
That's amazing. I mean, there's already been questions about how did Brandeis help you and affect you? There you go, that's one of the answers. We're going to get back to it. I'll definitely ask it again, but that's amazing. We're going to pivot slightly to Denitsa. You went to school at Parsons. What was your first job in theater?
Denitsa Bliznakova:
Yeah, absolutely. By the way Bonita and yes, before me, you guys, your stories are so entertaining I forgot I was on the panel. This is fabulous. I think everyone in this entertainment industry ends up there from the most unlikely places, and I think my story is also quite unusual. I was studying, actually my dream was to be a lawyer. I'm originally from Bulgaria. In Bulgaria, there was a revolution in '89, and so in 1990, my parents decided to immigrate to the United States. I didn't speak a word of English, and so my dream of being a lawyer kind of got crushed, but it's all about mentorship for me.
Denitsa Bliznakova:
I attended a couple of years of high school in Greenwich, Connecticut and my art instructor applied for me. She said, "You're really good at art," and I said, "Really?" I was self-taught. She said, "Let me apply to ..." She applied for me to seven universities. I got in all of them. They were top art schools and Parsons ended up giving me the most money so I just went there. But actually, one of the reasons why I ended up going to Parsons is because they had a Parsons Paris Program, and I've always wanted to live in Paris. So I ended up in Paris and of course, I met fashion and so that was the end of that. But I was doing industrial design. I wanted to design cars, again, theater, clothing.
Denitsa Bliznakova:
None of that was actually ... So accidentally, I feel like I ended up in all of these situations and once I came back to New York City, I realized that in America fashion was way too much business and not enough art. So I actually ended up teaching at Parsons for a year and during that year, I ended up actually assisting on a couple of projects for a very experimental group called En Garde Arts. I assisted on that show, it was Lower East Side on top of a roof. That's where the plays were taking. They were these little vignettes. I mean, it was not your conventional theater. We were sweating and working hard, but I got the cuter bug there.
Denitsa Bliznakova:
So I decided to go to grad school and check out this thing called theater design and I was accepted to it ... I'm not going to mention though the universities, but one is in New York, one is in New Haven, and one is in Boston, Brandeis. I just want to say that Brandeis really gave me everything that I needed. If you've heard of interviews with Karl Eigsti, anyone who has interviewed with Karl would tell you that she's magic. It's three hours of talking about, who are you? Who am I? Brandeis allowed me to really find out who I am, find out if theater is for me even. I didn't know what I was getting into, at my own pace. But that pace ended up being pretty fast.
Denitsa Bliznakova:
I mean, after two years of doing very ... I had only done one or two shows at Brandeis. I actually landed my first professional gig at Williamstown Theatre Festival. This story I'm going to be brief, but I want to share it with you, especially for the students in the audience. I share the story with my own students because it's kind of unbelievable. After two years at Brandeis, very short resume, I was called and offered to be an assistant costume shop manager in Williamstown. So clueless I said on the phone, I'll never forget talking to French Champa who called me with the offer and I said, "Well, assistant to ... But I'm a designer, I design."
Denitsa Bliznakova:
Pretty clueless, right? I should've just taken the job because Williamstown you go through, you're an intern for two years, maybe you'll assist for whatever, right? He didn't say any hang up the phone on me but he said, "I'll see what I could do." Two weeks later, he called me back with a new offer. I was going to actually assist in a main-stage show and then design on the niko stage, which I was of course ecstatic. But looking back, I just can't believe. I don't know if it was luck or whatever it was, but it was confidence. It was this confidence about saying, "I'm a designer," and I have not stopped saying that since then.
Denitsa Bliznakova:
So, I refuse to take anything else but design gigs for like, it's been I don't know how many years. 15, 16 years. And of course, my first show was Broadway actors, Bebe Neuwirt, Eric Bogosian. It was the who is who in theater and TV. Michael Ritchie was the artistic director at the time. Neel Keller was the director who is now associated in Los Angeles actually with Center Theatre Group. The set designer on my first professional gig at Williamstown Theatre was David Korins, the designer of Hamilton. He's like the top set designer currently.
Denitsa Bliznakova:
I worked with another director, Moritz von Stuelpnagel who did Hand to God, another Broadway show. So, all the people that I met at Williamstown Theater ... And by the way, three months I did not sleep. It was breathing, living theater. A lot of trips between New York City and the Berkshires, and I just remember the whole time going, "Oh my God, I'm so clueless. What am I doing? I could do it, I could do it, I could do it." So, it was a pretty wild ride from the very beginning.
Michelle Miller:
There's so much there to unpack, which is great. I'm definitely going to bring up mentorship because you and Bonita both mentioned that. I think that's important, especially for people listening. But I also wanted to bring up with what you said about advocating for yourself in the beginning, because that's confidence is I think something ... I mean listen, I didn't mean for the whole panel to be women, but it's just this wonderful thing that happened. But we all read stuff that says that women don't advocate for themselves enough. You had the confidence. How do you think you had that confidence to go, "Okay, no, no, no. I'm a designer." I mean, that's so important.
Denitsa Bliznakova:
I call it confidence now, it's ignorance. I mean, it's a little bit not knowing the "rules," of the industry. This is a little bit harsh to hear, and how can I say it without using offensive words? When I started working as a designer, the first week somebody asked me, who did I have a relationship with to get the gig? So, basically nobody believed me that I alone with my credits could get that gig. It was eye-opening and over the years, I've been in all kinds of situations working really hard. But, actually I feel like not knowing that structure and I just went for it headfirst. But you know what? It worked out for me that first time so I decided I'm just going to stick with that line and see what happens. What's the worst thing that could happen? They're not going to hire you.
Michelle Miller:
And you already have experience now as a designer, so it's not like you want to move back and go down.
Denitsa Bliznakova:
Absolutely, but I'll tell you it was a little ... Looking back again, I can't believe on the phone I told somebody who offered me a job, "No, no I don't want to be an assistant."
Michelle Miller:
That's so interesting. I remember there's this awesome thing I read once where it was, men often ... This is not a men versus women thing, but men often apply for jobs that they think ... Exactly, that they think they could do well in and women often apply to jobs that they feel like they have experience with. It's great that you had that whatever it is, chutzpah, audacity, balls, whatever you want to call it to be like ... Even if it is ignorance, it worked out really well and I think a lot of people-
Denitsa Bliznakova:
And I recommend it to everyone. You don't have to check off all of the boxes especially because in theater, the boxes are not defined that well. I think if you have the passion and the energy, you just have to go for it. You'll figure out everything after that.
Michelle Miller:
I love that. That's so great. That's a great part to switch to Renita, but thank you Denitsa. This is amazing. Renita, welcome. Thank you, and how did you start in this industry? How did you start in theater?
Renita Martin:
Wow, well starting I have to go way, way, way, way back because I think I started like most of us, I'm hearing these themes of mentorship, of Brandeis and that there's a sense that this is in our blood. That desire is always a long-standing one if you're in this one, and if you're staying in it. So, I think I started as a child. Even going to church and going to school, I would come ... I was always a storyteller and I'd come back and act out the drama that I saw in church, especially stuff if you peek in the teachers' lounge, the stuff you'd see there. So, I was always searching for drama.
Renita Martin:
But, I started transitioning from ... I started my undergraduate work at Tougaloo College in Mississippi. I had a great mentor there, Dr. Regina Turner who really turned me ... I was in pre-med and she turned me on to theater. I ended up transferring to Boston University and working with James Spruill, who was working professionally in theater and would always bring his students in to his professional production. So, I got the opportunity to meet people and work in that way. So I was working professionally before I got to Brandeis, both as a playwright and an actor. I stumbled, I guess into playwriting.
Renita Martin:
I started as a poet and always acted, but somebody asked if I had written a play. Somebody said, "Do you have a one woman show?" And I was like, "Yeah," but I did not. They were like, "Cool, we have this opportunity for you to do the one woman show." I had a date and everything, but no one woman show. So I ran and wrote the one woman show, and that's how I stumbled into playwriting. And then I ended up at Brandeis wanting to learn more about it and do more with it. That too, was a phenomenal experience that boosted the other experiences that I've had.
Renita Martin:
Michael Weller came through. He's a fabulous playwright in its own right and came through Brandeis while I was there, and passed my script on to Angelina Fiordellisi at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York. She recruited me, and I ended up in New York with a theater home, a place that I still call my theater home. So yeah, I rolled, bobbed, weaved into ...
Michelle Miller:
I was like, "I'm on mute, I forgot." I love that. I love that it's again, the confidence to be like if someone asks you, "Do you have a one woman show," and you're like, "Yes, I do have a ... I will have a one woman." How do you make a one woman show in ... I mean, I don't know how much time they gave you. How did you figure that out?
Renita Martin:
It was I think about a month or so. I already had some characters in my head and some stories so I was like, "Let me just ..." I recorded them first and played them out in the mirror to see if it worked. Then I'm like, "Okay, let me make a story."
Michelle Miller:
How long was that initial show?
Renita Martin:
It ran about 45 minutes, 45, 50 minutes. And it toured forever. It ended up being a big-
Michelle Miller:
Really?
Renita Martin:
Yeah.
Michelle Miller:
That's phenomenal. What happened after that? After Brandeis I meant.
Renita Martin:
After Brandeis is when I went to New York.
Michelle Miller:
To New York, and then you started at the Cherry Lane Theatre. What kind of stuff did you do there?
Renita Martin:
Well, I did a lot of one woman shows.
Michelle Miller:
One woman shows? Nice.
Renita Martin:
The play that brought me ... Actually, the same play that got me into Brandeis was the same play that brought me to ... That was sent to the Cherry Lane. So we did that, did diversions of other plays. It just gave me the opportunity to ... Anything that I knew that I was working on, I had the opportunity to play with it.
Michelle Miller:
That's amazing. So, what was the next thing? I guess we could start going into the next question if you will. How did you guys start moving up? Now that you have your first initial forays maybe out of grad school, how did you start moving up in the field? How did you start getting that next position, that next thing and that next thing? Do you want to start Renita? Yes, because we're already on you.
Renita Martin:
Well, a lot of it I think is meeting people. For me, it's been diversifying. At some point I ended up doing some work at Brown University with the theater students there and that evolved into a longer thing. As I mentioned, the first one woman show, well, I guess it was the second one woman show that toured and got me into the door of theaters. I just knocked down doors, traveled internationally and just anything that I ... My goal is always keep submitting, keep sending stuff. I have a million rejection letters and a resume full of good stuff.
Michelle Miller:
Yeah. I know you've published plays, obviously. When was the first play that you published?
Renita Martin:
I think it was a couple of years after Brandeis.
Michelle Miller:
Nice. Wow, and how did that come about? How did you go about publishing that first one?
Renita Martin:
That actually, another stumble into. I was part of a playwrights festival in Boston, the Boston Theater Marathon and the play ended up getting published as part of an anthology from that theater. Then somehow it ended up getting ... Samuel French, which was at the time Concord with Samuel French ended up publishing the play by itself as a book.
Michelle Miller:
Did you find it was easier then to publish the next one because you had that?
Renita Martin:
Yeah. Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Michelle Miller:
That's amazing.
Renita Martin:
Yeah, yeah. But it's always a new ... Each journey feels like a new journey.
Michelle Miller:
Yeah. And how did you start Rhythm Visions Production Company? I don't want to mess that one up.
Renita Martin:
I started that I think Brandeis. I started it around the time, the mid 90s when the arts were being phased out of the schools. I had gone to a school and was asked by one of the students if I could come back and teach a playwriting class there and I'm like, "Ah, sure." I'm like, "Okay, if I'm going to do this I need some people to help." So I got some artist friends together and I'm like, "There's this need." Then from that, that evolved into us working in shelters with folks experiencing homelessness. Then that evolved into working in prisons and juvenile detention, and then from that came creating jobs for people who had come through the programs.
Michelle Miller:
That's incredible. Well, it's incredible for multiple reasons. A, it's giving back which is amazing. But also, we've all been talking about the mentorship we've received and so now it's like, "Okay, well how do I provide mentorship for other people?" I wanted to actually go to Bonita next because A, I know that you also provide a lot of mentorship for ... Malaik mentioned in the bio that you do a lot for high school students. So, how is that important to you, and then we'll flip back to how you moved up and continued.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
I think that mentorship is something that is needed in the community. Even as an ... I'm a middle-aged woman. I'm not going to tell my age, but I just had a birthday the other day.
Michelle Miller:
Happy birthday.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
Thank you.
Michelle Miller:
Leo.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
Leo. I think that mentorship is needed, even for someone like me. I still refer back to Dr. Stewart. I remember early on in my career I spoke ... Because I've been doing The Lion King for 16 years now coming up in September. Thank you. I remember even we had a voice teacher at Brandeis, and her name was Nancy Armstrong. I remember even calling ... We call her Nan, and she's so wonderful. I remember calling Nan and saying, "Nan, I have this to do," or, "I'm having an issue with my voice. What do I need to do?" Nan is one of my mentors also. I'm not so much in touch with her anymore but I do believe that if I needed to call on Nan, I would be able to call her and just get some guidance on how to ... Because of course, Nan sang at Carnegie Hall, as well as my Dr. Stewart. She is an NAACP Image Award recipient. She's done over 50 movies if you look her IMDb up. And then she is in the world of academia.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
I mentor high school students and students from the Alabama State University. I was participating in a program ... I live in New Jersey, with the Vanguard Theater called Broadway Buddies where we take on students, high school students and ... I always like to bring my mentees into my world. So we first meet at the theater, you hang out backstage, you see what it is. You know, people think that it's all glitz and glamor, it is not. It is hard work, it is a grind. Eight shows a week with one day off, and we have ... This young lady, her name was Indigo Blue and I would introduce her to ... She wanted to sing, but she wasn't quite sure if she wanted to do musical theater or if she just wanted to sing.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
What's the young lady's name? Billie Eilish? Yeah, she was like, "She just failed Madison Square Garden and I just want to do ..." Well, first of all you have to get some craft under you. I'm like, "We're working on musical theater." So anyway, I go back and I teach symposiums to the students at Alabama State University. I make myself available to the students. They know how to contact me, because they need to know and they need to ... Some people don't even know what to do in an audition room when they're coming out of school. You need to know, we need to have a conversation. Let me see where your head is. I wanted to do those things that my mentors did for me, and I want to always make myself available to my mentees.
Michelle Miller:
I love that. Malik mentioned, I started a podcast recently called Mentors on the Mic for that reason. I wanted to introduce people to journeys and roles and just information, especially since some people are not great at finding their own mentors. They just find it very ... Very intimidated by the process, not sure what to ask people once they do. So, it's phenomenal that you guys are doing that and putting yourself in a place ... and even doing this. I mean, this is mentorship. You know what I mean? This is explaining your story, answering questions so we Thank you. Yes, profusely. Specifically, I just wanted to touch Bonita a little bit on, obviously right off the bat you got Lion King. But there's also been other things you've been doing, as well as you're a big voiceover actress. We talked about that in the bio. You've also done a couple television shows; the Knick, Manifest, films. Can you talk a little bit about that progression and how that came about?
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
Oh, gosh-
Michelle Miller:
Especially with eight shows a week. I mean, I know some theater actors who do that. It's a lot to do eight shows a week, and then on top of it audition for other stuff and book stuff where you have to work your way around both.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
What I tell people when they asked me is, The Lion King is the icing on top of the cake. As an actor, my job is to audition. I don't care if I have a 6:30 half hour, I have a 10 o'clock audition the next morning, and that's important and it deserves as much attention as I give to The Lion King. I don't even think about the TV and film stuff, I just do it. I've even auditioned for things in the pandemic, Zoom.
Michelle Miller:
Yup. Zoom auditions man, that's a thing.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
And honestly, I've learned a whole new skill set as a voice actor, because I've had to build a home studio where I didn't even have a laptop, because I'm not tech savvy. But, I had to go out ... My agent called me and he said, "Okay, this is what's happening. You need to get this type of mic, you need to get an interface, you need to ..." and I was like, "Ah." Then I said, "Okay." And at four o'clock in the morning, I get up because that's my time to think. I go back to sleep, but something said check your email. I checked my email ... I'm a part of this loop group where we do voiceovers for film and television and they were checking my availability.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
I was like, "Oh, so I really have to get this set up." Then I had this audition, and then I had this job voiceover. So I became the actor and the technician overnight, and I was like, "I'm not tech savvy." But, I had to learn it. Now I know it and I've been able to help my friends that are ... Because, Broadway is shut down. We are shut completely down. They say January, I heard we're not coming back until summer 2021. We shut down on March 11th, 2020. So now it's time to figure out what you can do. It's time to pivot, new skill set. I'm grateful that I was able to pivot. Some people can't. So, yeah. Was that the question?
Michelle Miller:
No, it was, it was. And it's not even new skill sets though because the new skill sets might be the technical parts, but all that is not new because those skill sets have been worked on, and trained, and polished. And also some good news because I keep getting so many messages right now. Nancy Armstrong is in fact on the call. She is watching right now. Is there any way you could get Nancy up? I don't know if that's too hard.
Nancy Armstrong:
I am in here.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
Where is she?
Nancy Armstrong:
I'm right here.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
Oh, Nan.
Nancy Armstrong:
I am here.
Michelle Miller:
And by the way, I've had so many people also write just being like, "Nancy is so amazing. We just had her." Recent graduates who are like, "Nancy."
Nancy Armstrong:
Hi, Bonita. I am here.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
Nan, you are the reason that I am able to sustain eight shows a week for 16 years. The way you taught me to take care of my instrument, I cannot thank you enough. I've seen people come and go in my show, yet I am still there because of what you taught me and I appreciate you so much.
Nancy Armstrong:
Oh, I love you too. Anytime you need me, you don't need me. You have done it and it was your hard work. I had never had a voice like yours before. Together we had the sets up how to keep your instrument going and the care that I wanted you to make sure that I instilled in you. And, you didn't.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
You did. People say, "How do you do it?" And I say, "I noodle. Nan tells me to noodle."
Nancy Armstrong:
That's right, that's right. Anytime Bonita.
Michelle Miller:
That's so great. thank you, Nancy.
Nancy Armstrong:
You're welcome, you're welcome.
Michelle Miller:
This is so great. I have multiple people writing me being like, "Nancy's on the call."
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
Now I'm going to cry a river when I–
Michelle Miller:
All right, we'll switch because we're almost at time for question and answers and I want to get Denitsa and Dev in, but that was so amazing. Thank you, Nancy. This was an unplanned thing we have on this panel. Brandeis is great. So Denitsa and Dev, I'm going to speak with Denitsa first. Denitsa, how did we continue to get all those credits? Because even Malik mentioned, there are so many theaters you have worked with and you touched in a little bit, but how did you get from point A to point B to all the theaters and get more and more work?
Denitsa Bliznakova:
Yeah, well I would agree with Bonita. I think Bonita was talking about auditioning being a full time job. As a freelance designer, what we talk about is networking is a full time job. So while you're on three shows working on design gigs, at the same time you have this other full time job, which is networking. Making a name for yourself, meeting people, making connections. And so, yes, my mentors in Brandeis did help me, did open many doors for me. There was also a designer, a Broadway designer with the name Martin Pakledinaz, who passed away since then. He tremendously helped me with my move from New York City to Los Angeles, which is ... We could have a whole separate panel on anyone who's interested in moving East Coast to West Coast. It's the scariest move. At the time people say your connections won't transfer.
Denitsa Bliznakova:
But what happened was, these connections helped some doors open. I always tell my students, "You still have to deliver though." Just because you get a meeting, somebody decides to meet you, that doesn't mean that you'll get a gig. So for a while, there was a little bit of, well, you're overqualified to work in the shop, but you're not there yet as a designer, type of a deal. But really my start in Los Angeles, I thank Garry Marshall. Gary Marshall, the famous film producer of all people. He had a theater ... He passed away also not too long ago. But he has a theater in Burbank in Toluca Lake and so I worked for him for many years. I became his resident designer there along with a couple of other people. We were a team. They gave me my first job and it was Hollywood on stage every night. We had so many TV personalities be on our stage in Toluca Lake, but I think that was a great help.
Denitsa Bliznakova:
In fact, I was working on Happy Days the musical for over two years with Gary when my first daughter was born. Also, we could have a separate panel about working parents in our industry. And actually, can I give a shout out to my husband, who is also a Brandeis graduate? He's from the playwriting program at MFA and did to Brandeis babies essentially. He's from there, I'm from Brandies, so our two daughters, the Brandeis baby in our house. But because they got pregnant with my daughter and it was right before take of the musical, I had to shift gears and realize, "How can I continue as a working professional and be a mother?" At that time I realized to bring balance in my life, I decided that I was going to apply for some teaching positions and I landed this amazing job, which now I'm a full professor. I'm head of an MFA program, which is absolutely absurd that I can't believe I'm saying that, but it happened.
Denitsa Bliznakova:
It happened when I was way too young and way too early in my career, but that really allowed me to bring that balance and It's all about balance with everyone, with all of us. How do you balance the Broadway show with auditions? And then if you put family on top of that, it just explodes. And we were living in Los Angeles, I was doing a lot of work in San Diego, so traveling between the two cities. But in San Diego I met ... I give so much credit to ... I don't know if you guys know Darko Tresnjak. He's a director. He used to be the artistic director at the Old Globe, and then also until recently the artistic director at Hartford Stage. He gave me an interview at the Old Globe Theater, along with Jerry Patch, who is a very good dramaturge, and they believed in me.
Denitsa Bliznakova:
That allowed me to enter the union, and I was ... Basically I became a regular with all of the West Coast regional theaters after that. But it really takes one big gig, and all you have to do is just make a name. So, at Gary Marshall ... I'm just going to say one thing about branding yourself, like who are you as a designer? I ended up having this reputation of, I could work with the most difficult personalities. I've been told that I could have a difficult personalities, but maybe that's why it allows me to work with the most difficult personalities. So when we had some difficult actors on stage, they would always call Denitsa to the rescue. I actually pride myself in that, is collaboration and the ability to work with everyone from all backgrounds, with all personalities. I think it's really, really important to keep grounded and to be like that. But, I'll stop here and let-
Michelle Miller:
No, I mean there's so much. That's why it's hard to do these things sometimes because it's like, "I could go on and on about that." What's really great also that you said, and I understand this, all of us have this ability for this freelance position and then it's on one hand, we want to bounce that out with something that has stability to it. So at least with the teaching position, there's a linear path to follow where you'd work here and you work this much, and now you're the head of that program. So, let's pivot to Dev. Deb, I know you've had I think a similar linear path I think with theater companies. Do you want to talk a little bit about how you started moving up, you started a little, you know?
Dev Bondarin:
Sure. I was reminded with the story about saying to Williamstown that ... Not that I ever said that to Williamstown, but just the idea that you just didn't know that maybe you shouldn't say that. I was just sitting here thinking that the assisting work that I had right after undergrad and then right after grad school, I just asked, and sometimes when you ask you get no response. I had this friend in high school who used to always say, "what's the worst thing that's going to happen? The person's going to say no, and you never know." So, my first assisting job was actually at Gloucester Stage Company. I know it's now run by a Brandeis professor, which is very exciting.
Dev Bondarin:
But the way that I got that gig is, I just called Gloucester Stage at the end of my junior year at Brandeis and I said, "I want to assist on a show," and the person who picked up the message called me back. I sometimes think about that now and I'm like, "Would I have the guts to do something like that now?" I mean, I hope so. But I just think at the moment, I just did that and I had the experience. Then I came back to Brandeis for my senior year already having assisted on a show, and that was a good thing that I did. I think it reminded me that I could ask for something. I just wanted to put that out there because the Williamstown story reminded me of that. Just doing something because you didn't know that maybe you shouldn't. Why not?
Dev Bondarin:
In terms of moving up, I was thinking about starting with this theater company in grad school, Prospect and my next gig with them ... Because I've had a couple of different titles until the title that I have now, which is probably the most prestigious is that after I was an intern ... They are a very industrious group. If you don't know them, I highly recommend looking them up. They are dedicated to just all new musical theater. And for the earlier years that I was working with them, they would rent a theater and they were really keen on keeping the theater in use.
Dev Bondarin:
So if the main-stage show was running Thursday through Sunday, we had something in the theater Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. I was given the gig of overseeing all of that. So, suddenly I was a producer and suddenly all of the experiences that I had being the treasurer of Brandeis Ensemble Theater and directing in Nathan Seifer Auditorium, if there's anybody out there who knows what that is. Came to light and suddenly, I needed to be in contact with the people that were putting on these very small bare bone shows, and I also got to do some of my own work. So it was a really awesome experience to be able to gain the experience of knowing how to produce, but also I got to do some creative work as a thank you.
Dev Bondarin:
Then I moved up with the company and we started to do this annual musical theater lab. I came to directing musicals later than directing plays. It was actually the first musical theater lab that we did at Prospect that I directed my first musical ever, which was actually co-written by my husband, who I had no idea was going to be my husband at that time. But it's amazing that I do a lot of musical theater now, and the first musical that I ever directed was written by my future spouse. Hi, John, if you are watching. So, you never know.
Dev Bondarin:
From there it just became, "We want to have one person curate and put on this musical theater lab. Do you want it to be you?" This is a good example of I didn't know what I was saying yes to, but I said yes. I had directed one short musical and it went well. So when the artistic director said to, "Do you want to direct the whole thing next year?" I thought to myself, "What? I've directed 10 minutes of a musical ever," but I said yes, because of course I did. Then suddenly I had other opportunities to direct musicals, and I love directing musicals now. So, it was a bit of confidence and a bit of luck that I got to move into that position and the head of that company has really become a very close friend of mine, and also a mentor to me now that I am in her position at another theater company.
Dev Bondarin:
Luckily for me, my home base there still exists even though I'm actually in the driver's seat at another small theater in New York City. Off-Broadway is a very vast place with a lot going on and the fact that I'm the artistic head of a company that's about to celebrate its 20th anniversary is a really proud thing. I didn't found the company. I'm not that old. But, it was only because of the experience running these dark night shows that I even learned what it meant to try to put together something on a small budget, herding a lot of people, but also keeping that creative eye to know what you want to program. So, I think that answers the question?
Michelle Miller:
That 100% answers the question. I mean, that's a great time to start to pivot into question and answers. I started a little later than I intended, sorry guys. But feel free to ask more questions as I start to read some of these wonderful questions out loud. So Dev, why did you decide you were no longer interested in stage management? Is stage managing a typical stepping stone in artistic directorship? Does it help you?
Dev Bondarin:
I don't think it's a typical stepping stone which doesn't mean it can't be a stepping stone, but I don't think it's typical. I think that everyone should know what a stage manager does, because it's only going to make what you do better. The job of a stage manager is the most important job on a production because it keeps everything else running. So the fact that I had that experience early on, I think was instrumental in terms of my being able to look at what I had to work with and know how to keep the gears moving in a way that was going to optimize what we could do and keep the schedule going, and all of that. So I think it did help prepare me and it's the stage management part of my brain that I think still helps me to this day, but I don't necessarily think it's a path that everyone takes. But I think it's a good thing to know a lot about.
Michelle Miller:
Excellent, thank you. Great question, and great answer. This is a general question. We got this a couple of times, and so this is for everyone. Let's start with this one. Who at Brandeis influenced you the most and why? For a couple of you we've already touched on it, but if anyone wants to jump in and ... Yeah, Dev.
Dev Bondarin:
I know I was just talking, but I saw that question come up in the chat and it made me start to think about it. One person that comes to mind immediately is our ... He passed away really recently. He was a theater history professor at Brandeis named John Bush Jones, who was affectionately referred to as JBJ. JBJ really, I think he knew I was a director before I did. I took as many of his classes as I could and he was probably the Brandeis professor that I kept in touch with for the longest after Brandeis. He wrote one of my letters of recommendation for my graduate program. And in thinking about how he really shaped my understanding of theater, well, he was just the largest well of knowledge.
Dev Bondarin:
But the idea that directing is really about the moment to moment work, but it's also understanding the historical and social meaning and position that a piece has in the entire history and canon of the theater. So not only did he really give me a huge grounding in the history of musical theater, in the history of theater in general, but also now allows me even with new work to think back on some of the lessons that I learned from him and to know what genre, and what tone, and what this and what that somebody might be referring to or playing with. I think about his class a lot. He was just a really special person who really wanted the best for the students, and so just giving him a lot love right now.
Michelle Miller:
That's great. I don't know if anyone else knew him or if anyone had someone else that they wanted to share. Yeah, Bonita.
Renita Martin:
To share ... Oh.
Michelle Miller:
Oh, sorry, Renita.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
Go ahead Renita.
Michelle Miller:
Both of you were at the same time.
Renita Martin:
Oh, okay. For me it was Arthur Holmberg. I mean, so many people really ... There were a lot of people. But Arthur and I, it was very interesting because we challenged each other. It wasn't the syrupy sort of relationship. I remember maybe about three years after I graduated Brandeis, I asked him to write me a letter of recommendation, I wanted to teach. I was applying for a job teaching at a college, and he wouldn't write the letter. He said, "I think you should be writing." Oh, I think I'm-
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
We lost you?
Michelle Miller:
Oh, no. You had such a nice story. Right cut in half. Well, hopefully she comes back on momentarily but Bonita, do you want to go?
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
Sure. So, I-
Michelle Miller:
Such a great expression that she just froze on.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
Yes, it's great. I would say, of course Nancy Armstrong for my voice. Marya Lowry, she challenged me like none other, and I can't thank her enough. She helped me fall in love with the classics. Every actor doesn't love Shakespeare, right? I was one of those actors. But, just delving in and figuring it out ... Also Janet, Janet Morrison.
Michelle Miller:
Janet Morrison. Oh, Janet.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
Janet challenged me so much. She could always tell when I was skating or trying to and she would hold me to the line, "I don't believe you, you gave up. You let it go." I often laugh and we talk about Janet and Marya, and what they just fed into us as actors and how we had to learn, what was it? Now entertaining, conjecture of a time, when weeping like ... I was like, "Argh," but I know it and I know it better than most and I can do it, and yes. When I had to do Winter's Tale at Brandeis and when I had to do Polina, which is a massive role for someone who doesn't like Shakespeare. I can only say thank you, thank you, thank you to Marya and Janet, and Nan for just feeding into me and staying on top of me because I can do it.
Michelle Miller:
Yes you can. That's awesome. I mean, no that's great. I didn't plan for this to be such a great Brandeis ... Denitsa yes, go for it.
Denitsa Bliznakova:
I want to go on record. We're being recorded here so maybe some of my mentors will see this, but all of the faculty in the program are top notch. That's one of the reasons I'm sure all of us went to the program. So from Karl Eigsti, to the reason why I ended up there, to Denise in the costume shop who I learned everything about everything from her. Candace who was one of the costume design professors. But two people truly, Jennifer von Mayrhauser who while she was teaching at Brandeis, she is ... She was basically the costume designer for Law & Order for the 20 years that it went.
Denitsa Bliznakova:
In addition of her TV gig with Law & Order, she would also do theater, and film, and raise children and travel between New York and Boston. And back then I thought, "All right, if Jennifer could do it, I could do it." I didn't realize that I had decided that the person I was going to look up to is Superwoman and I feel like I'm finding myself now having a very similar life. Traveling, raising children, education and designing but if it wasn't for Jennifer, I don't think ... I would've never thought that it was all possible to do it all.
Denitsa Bliznakova:
And then Bob Moody. I have to mention Bob Moody who is a charge artist, amazing scene painter. I'll just give one anecdote because he helped me feel confident about what I did. He summoned me after one class with him in drawing and rendering. He summoned me in his office and I said, "Oh shoot, I'm in trouble. Why is he calling me in his office?" He sat me down and he gave me this ... He said that there was nothing really he could teach me and I was like, "What do you mean?" He says, "You have such a great work ethic and you come with so much skill to us," and I said, "No, no, I don't know anything." He says, "No, no, you know a lot." And for the rest of my education at Brandeis, I felt confident that I knew a lot.
Denitsa Bliznakova:
But then looking back now, I really want to know if he did that to all of the students in his class. I really wonder and I've never been able to ... Even though we've met over the years, I always forget to ask him that question, "Did you do that to all of the students?" Because that gave me such a confidence. Here's this genius telling me there was nothing I could learn from him? Are you kidding me? So yeah, Bob Moody in that instant is a lasting, lasting thing on me, an influence.
Michelle Miller:
That's amazing.
Denitsa Bliznakova:
I don't think we got Renita back.
Michelle Miller:
I know, I don't think we got Renita back. I'm asking also Courtney, who's part of Brandeis if she's in the waiting room. I don't know if there's still a waiting room. In the meanwhile, technically, unfortunately this has ended. It's 8:15, I don't know if you guys need to leave. I wonder if we could ask maybe one more question just to push it if you guys are okay with that. And feel free if people need to leave, totally understand.
Dev Bondarin:
No, that fine.
Michelle Miller:
Oh, Malik. Hi, Malik. Oh, I was so excited. I was thinking maybe-
Michelle Miller:
I was just going to ask one more question. I'm seeing a lot of questions specifically about acting, just voiceover stuff and acting stuff. Because there's just one person, we're going to maybe put ... If everyone can maybe put up their socials if they want people to follow them on social media, if they want people to reach out to them in some other way. Maybe we can go around and just say, what's a way people can contact you, if you're comfortable with it. Is it easier to just say it out loud or to type it into the chat? What do you guys want to do?
Denitsa Bliznakova:
Type it is fine.
Michelle Miller:
Type it is fine? So yeah, just type in maybe an Instagram handle, Twitter, whatever you feel like. I mean, it's really up to you. An email if you feel like people can email you. LinkedIn if you prefer LinkedIn reaching out. Then in the meanwhile, let's end on a question with regards to maybe creating your own work during this whole thing. We all have our own situations that have been stopped because of COVID. I know for example, Prospect Theater Company and Astoria Theater Company, they're doing their own stuff virtually. I know that Bonita was talking a little bit about mentoring right now and also voiceover stuff and auditions sometimes happening.
Michelle Miller:
I just wanted to touch base if people wanted to as they do this, maybe respond. Yeah, I think we may have lost Renita, which is sad. I hope she comes on before we say goodbye. Thank you guys, everyone for coming. I don't know if people are leaving, but it's good to maybe have an idea of how we can continue people. This is great. But, anyone want to answer that? Things that we could do to create our own opportunities during this time? I think that's a good way to end it on. Dev, please.
Dev Bondarin:
Sure. I was thinking about this question too, because you sent it in advance and I think it's a question that's on everyone's mind, obviously. I was actually in callbacks for a big musical on March 12th. That musical didn't happen. But my theater company in Queens, I just put the website up on the chat. We pivoted immediately and a musical theater writer that is a friend was a in her anxiety in the first weekend of the shutdown, she was amassing a group of musical theater writers and actors who wanted to do an online musical theater project. I knew that she was ... She was putting together some great people. She emailed me and I wrote back and I said, "Let's chat about this because maybe there's a collaboration."
Dev Bondarin:
So we talked and I said, "It seems like this is a really great project. I know a lot of the people that are involved and I have some other folks that I can bring on board, but it seems like this project needs some institutional support and we just lost our spring musical." In that moment, a six-week musical theater endeavor became a reality and we had six different teams of different writers and actors putting together new short musicals that were filmed in isolation. Then we had a professional video editor put all the pieces together and we streamed them as YouTube events every Friday night for six weeks. They are still actually available on our YouTube page. I actually didn't put that up, but I will.
Michelle Miller:
I saw it. If you just search Dev and her theater company, you'll be able to find it on YouTube. It's really good.
Dev Bondarin:
Thank you. They're all about the pandemic in some way. And what's really interesting to revisit them now is that it was in the early days and they were written ... Just keep in mind, they were all written in March and April. So, it's interesting to see even the time capsule of work that was created earlier in this period. I definitely want to give other people an opportunity to say something, but I'll just add that I think that right now as awful, and crazy and strange as it is that everything is shut down, we have a palette with which to create and to connect. I just did an online Zoom workshop of a new musical that had a reading yesterday. It was very weird, but it was a great reminder that the intent and the need to be storytellers, and to be artists remains and that ...
Dev Bondarin:
I would say to anybody out there that ... And it was important for me to realize this too, not to think of it as a replacement, but to think of it as something that you need right now and that ... I met a writer on this project in March who is awesome and we really hit it off. We've never met in person, but we really want to work together-
Michelle Miller:
Renita.
Dev Bondarin:
So the opportunity to meet now in the ways that we can, create work now in the ways that we can, but also hope and make plans for the future I think is really important. A Zoom membership is really cheap and you can invite people to hear a new play, and suddenly you're on your way to making edits and changes, and to meeting some new people. I know it sounds like a pie in the sky, but I think that just the act of doing that keeps the hope and the love alive for what comes next.
Michelle Miller:
And I think that's important. I'm glad you mentioned that because I think that we're not replacing theater. Theater cannot be replaced. It just can't, and we're not going to try. But, I think it is like you said, important to create work still so I love that people are pivoting in these ways. And with the Zoom readings on, with stage readings or Zoom readings, there is something to be said about different eyes on it that might not be able to get to New York, or might not be able to get to San Diego and see these shows, that they now have the opportunity to have more eyes on them, and you never know. I'm trying to think of positive stuff there.
Michelle Miller:
But Renita, thank you. I'm so glad you came back. We're running a little late so we're just ending it on this one last question. If Renita you wanted to write down, I don't know if you feel comfortable at all. It's totally up to you, but any way that people may be able to follow up with you, contact you, find you just in case they had a question later on. If you want to type it in the chat. Then the question we're just ending on is, what are ways to create as a theater artist during this time, or what are ways that you've been creating or being active as a theater artist?
Renita Martin:
I think I'm probably repeating everyone in saying that we have to keep creating. That what we're creating is something new. It's not live theater. Live theater is what we all know. It's that guy in the seat in the next row that won't get off the cell phone. It's the smells, it's the breath, it's the spit. We know we won't get that, but just keep creating. We just have to keep creating and embrace the ways that we have an opportunity to be more expansive.
Michelle Miller:
Yeah. Renita, have you been writing a lot during this time?
Renita Martin:
I have, I have.
Michelle Miller:
Good.
Renita Martin:
And a few virtual festivals. I'm working on a piece that I was working on before this, a play about the life of Medgar Evers' wife Myrlie Evers. So, I'm writing my first civil rights piece.
Michelle Miller:
Excellent, amazing. Bonita, I know you were going to chat. Your mic is off.
Bonita Hamilton-Caesar:
Yeah. Like I said before, I've learned a new skill set. Well, it was already in me as you just said. I've been delving deeply into the world of voiceover animation, voicing Grammy and Through the Woods, the animated series for children. But, also doing a pilot. It's the weirdest thing. I've been doing a pilot on Zoom, playing this character and developing this character for this new pilot that's coming up and everything is done virtually, which is ... And we have to make that pivot. But, I want to say that Broadway is coming back. Theater is coming back. It is coming back stronger, better. We're going to be safer, because it is needed. There is a group of people that think that it is not needed, but it is needed. The storytellers are needed. We are needed. The story writers, the stage managers, the costume designers. We are community that we are needed, we are valuable. Yeah, that's what I have to say.
Michelle Miller:
Yes. People are going to flock. As soon as we're able to ... Yes, essential Malik. People are going to flock to it, the theater as soon as things open up in a safe way. People are just going to be like, "I needed this. This is so different from ..." There might be more of an appreciation and a gratitude for what you all can do. Denitsa, did you want to quickly end this?
Denitsa Bliznakova:
I just want to speak for all of my designer colleagues. I'm very much involved with our union, and currently it's a dark period of our history. But, everyone believes that theater will come back. It's essential, and everyone is just trying to stay positive. Personally, I've taken the time really for self-reflection and professional development really. I'm learning new skills. I've taken a number of classes when it comes to digital technologies, digital sculpting, rendering, concept design. So a little bit more film-related, but this is a time that was really actually helpful to me because usually we don't have the time for that. It's like, how do you make this horrible time that we're going through into a positive?
Denitsa Bliznakova:
And on a different note, let's not forget about all of these movements that are happening in society currently. This is really allowing ... And I'll speak for myself, to take a moment and look at theater history, or theater through history, present theater. How are we going to change? What are the changes that are coming up because of the issues happening? I've taken it upon myself to diversify what we educate our students. I've taken it upon myself to decolonize costume history, which is a huge ... It will take years and years to do. There is so much in a way going on in a time when we're not doing as much, but I think maybe it was meant to be that way to take a break and to examine ourselves, examine our culture, examine theater. And I think on the other end, I think Bonita said we'll be Better. We'll be better. I strongly believe it.
Michelle Miller:
I could not have imagined a better way to end that. That is so amazing. Thank you, and thank you all. I mean, this has just been ... I knew it was going to be good guys. I knew it, but it's even more amazing than I thought. This was so fantastic. Thank you guys all for participating in this, for your incredible leadership and mentorship during this time. Malik, did you want to say something as well? Thank you guys all for attending too.
Malik El-Amin:
Yeah, I'm not sure if the sound is coming in.
Michelle Miller:
Sound's coming in.
Malik El-Amin:
I knew that this group ... I know each of the panelists individually and I thought this would be intriguing, interesting, but you all just blew my mind and exceeded my expectations. I'm so thrilled that you said yes, and so thrilled that you shared your stories and your hearts. It's been amazing, so thank you so much for joining us today and thanks to the audience.