{"id":394,"date":"2013-11-08T19:01:10","date_gmt":"2013-11-08T19:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/?p=394"},"modified":"2013-11-08T19:01:10","modified_gmt":"2013-11-08T19:01:10","slug":"a-conversation-with-andrew-stairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/2013\/11\/08\/a-conversation-with-andrew-stairs\/","title":{"rendered":"A Conversation with Andrew Stairs"},"content":{"rendered":"

By LAURA HUMBLE<\/strong> – STAFF WRITER<\/em><\/p>\n

Senior Andrew Stairs didn\u2019t choose theater; theater chose him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI reached a point where I thought, \u2018high school me couldn\u2019t have known\u2026 [but] this is what I want to be a part of,\u2019\u201d Stairs said.<\/p>\n

His journey began in kindergarten as narrator of a Nativity play, but he did not seriously begin his career until high school. Previously, he had enjoyed reading Shakespeare and attending shows at his local theater, but the drama department at St. Xavier High School in Louisville, Ky. allowed him to explore his talents and stretch his wings onstage. His high school credits include Ferdinand in The Tempest, LeFou in Beauty and the Beast, Jean Valjean in Les Miserables and Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar.<\/p>\n

\"Senior<\/a>
Senior Andrew Stairs enjoys all facets of the dramatic arts major at Centre, including the study of dramatic history and literature. See him in Our Country\u2019s Good next week.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even with all this success, Stairs only saw acting as a hobby. \u201cI would put my nose to the grindstone for college,\u201d Stairs said. However, once he came to Centre he fell in love with theatre all over again.<\/p>\n

Now, Stairs\u2019s enthusiasm for the stage is clear. \u201cI love it. Working with professors and students to craft a play is one of the greatest joys I have here. I like walking out of Grant after performing back into Centre proper. I\u2019ll be eating or something the next day with some friends, and I\u2019ll see people staring, thinking, \u2018That\u2019s the guy with the bald spot I saw onstage last night,\u2019\u201d Stairs said.<\/p>\n

Stairs might relish the recognition, but his favorite part of being a dramatic arts major is the ability to collaborate with other people. \u201cA group of people gets together with an idea \u2013 \u2018let\u2019s do a play\u2019 \u2013 and winds up a month or so later at \u2018Hey that was fun.\u2019 What happens in between is just so cool,\u201d Stairs said.<\/p>\n

He not only enjoys the acting aspect of being a dramatic arts major, but also everything\u2014and anything\u2014else that has to do with the stage. \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly rewarding to study one discipline in three areas\u2014performance, technology and design, and dramatic history and literature. While most of my work\u2026 has been acting, I\u2019ve worked in our scenic shop and costume shop. I\u2019ve tackled Sophocles, Shakespeare, Chekhov, Beckett, Churchill, Stoppard, and others,\u201d Stairs said.<\/p>\n

Though rewarding, acting requires high committment. \u201cNo matter the play or director, it\u2019s always pretty time-consuming and draining, physically and emotionally. When I work, I go all in,\u201d Stairs said. For Centre\u2019s fall play Our Country\u2019s Good he rehearses for two to four hours each weekday and runs through the play again on the weekend.<\/p>\n

Stairs hits the ground running from the moment he wakes up, starting the day off right with some exercise before class. He attends rehearsal in the afternoon, arriving early so he can go over lines or blocking, stretch, and take a minute to gather himself. During rehearsal, he is onstage, doing homework in the wings, or having fun with the cast. In the evening, when rehearsal lets out, he grabs some dinner and does homework until late. Then, \u201c[I] rinse and repeat,\u201d Stairs said.<\/p>\n

Our Country\u2019s Good is directed by Charles T. Hazelrigg Professor of Dramatic Arts Patrick Kagan-Moore. \u201cIt is about the first English settlement in Australia\u2014a penal colony in New South Wales\u2014and its decision to put on a play using convicts,\u201d Stairs said. His roles include Captain Arthur Phillip, the governor, and Robert Sideway, a convicted pickpocket and aspiring actor. The play runs from Nov. 13-15 at 8 p.m., and Nov. 16 at 5 p.m in Weisiger Theater. It is also worth a convocation credit.<\/p>\n

So what are Stairs\u2019s future plans? \u201cIn the past year, I\u2019ve become much more confident and open to the possibility of exploring the field professionally,\u201d Stairs said. This was reinforced by his study abroad experience in London. \u201cWhile I\u2019d certainly thought about it at home and at Centre, London made me consider the possibilities of acting and contributing to theater professionally.\u201d Across the pond, he was fortunate enough to see Judi Dench, Ben Whishaw and James McAvoy and was inspired by the public\u2019s love for theatrical performances over Hollywood blockbusters.<\/p>\n

To give back to students what he\u2019s been given is Stairs true passion. \u201cTheater\u2014all arts, really\u2014in schools are invaluable. People lose sight on the impact arts education and outreach can have. I want to be an advocate and teacher,\u201d Stairs said.<\/p>\n

It seems Stairs will pursue this the way he pursues everything else: with passion and total immersion. \u201cTake the leap,\u201d Stairs said. \u201cCast aside your doubts about the field, the work, whatever. Have fun and explore. In the words of Professor Patrick Kagan-Moore: \u2018Go play. \u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By LAURA HUMBLE – STAFF WRITER Senior Andrew Stairs didn\u2019t choose theater; theater chose him. \u201cI reached a point where I thought, \u2018high school me couldn\u2019t have known\u2026 [but] this is what I want to be a part of,\u2019\u201d Stairs said. His journey began in kindergarten as narrator of a Nativity play, but he did […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":395,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-leisure"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}