oc alumni newsletter fall 07
DESCRIPTION
Fall 2007 Original Cast Alumni Newsletter, written by Andrew EnkebollTRANSCRIPT
Producer’s Corner with Katharine Vandergriff
Fall 2007
Vanderbi l t Univers i ty ’s Premiere Broadway Revue Troupe
The Original Cast had an exciting kickoff to the semes-
ter. We had a total of 28 people audition for 10 spots,
making this one of the most competitive semesters ever.
We welcomed 1 female and 6 male newbies into our Cast
family. More importantly, we have a second Cast legacy
– Emily Degerberg, daughter of Jennifer Fritz (Class of
‘79) and niece of Virginia Crehore (Class of ’78). Last
spring semester, Victor McMillan, son of Mary Melissa
Rice (Class of ’79), became our first legacy.
We also said good-bye to several gradu-
ating seniors in May: Cole Smith, a Na-
val officer now stationed in Virginia;
Tyler Jakes, Mary Fishburne, and
Mackenzie Shivers, all fresh on the New
York City theatre scene; Maredith Close
and Beau Henson, who are attending
graduate school in Scotland; Caitlin Leo-
nard, who is in Los Angeles; and Derrick
Snyder, who is working in Austin. Each
of these seniors gave countless hours,
energy, and love to Cast, and we miss
them dearly.
The Original Cast is especially proud of our alumni, and
we have met several of you this semester – before Athe-
nian Sing, at Nashville Cares AIDS Walk, and during
Homecoming weekend. We always enjoy hearing stories
about the history of the group. You are our strongest
base, and we greatly appreciate the donations that you
make each semester.
After 31 years, the group is still strong with some of the
best talent that I have seen during my time here.
Thank you so much for your support, and please join us
for our Fall 2007 Show “After Hours” at the Belcourt. I
look forward to swapping stories with you at the Cham-
pagne Gala!
It's so hard for me to believe that one year from now I'll be
receiving my first Original Cast alumni newsletter. There
are a number of milestones you dream of hitting when you
become a "lifer" in The Original Cast: first rehearsal, first
performance, first solo, first board position, and for some,
first time directing. This is now my second time acting as
the director for The OC, and the show means a great deal
to me – each song has been analyzed to the final measure,
every transition planned to the second, and each costume
detailed down to the last button. But this is not the first
time an OC member has waxed nostalgic.
Cast alumni are everywhere, and they all
have their own stories to share about
what their time in Original Cast meant to
them.
I am completely in awe of the accom-
plished alumni I met during my four
years with Cast. I found Scott Evans
(c/o ‘95) on the Dore2Dore website, and he
helped me look for a job in New York. Nei-
ther of us mentioned Original Cast in our
online correspondence, but when he got
the alumni newsletter, I was surprised and touched to
receive an email from him telling me to break a leg. It is
amazing how Cast truly brings people together – there
really is a Cast family that defies time and space.
When I look back at my Vanderbilt years, my fondest
memories won't be of the all-nighters I pulled or the time I
snuck into Stevenson at 4 am just to see what it was like,
but of my escapades as an OC member: squeezing in a
final quick change, working to get a certain tap combina-
tion just right, and sharing countless smiles and laughs
with my best friends on the Vanderbilt campus. Fortu-
nately, we still have milestones to look forward to as Cast
graduates—you, to see a show as a Cast alumnus; and me,
to receive my very first alumni newsletter.
Director’s Corner with Tinsley Meloy
10.26.2007
Director Tinsley Meloy and producer Katharine Vandergriff share the Cast Love
When:
Thursday, Nov 29, 8:00pm
Friday, Nov 30, 8:00pm
Saturday, Dec 1, 8:00pm
Champagne Gala after Friday’s performance!
What:
Mamma Mia!
Spring Awakening
Assassins
Sweet Charity
Where:
Belcourt Theater
2102 Belcourt Avenue
Nashville, TN
www.belcourt.org
The Original Cast Presents: After Hours
The Original Cast poses with group founder and
spring break host Phil Walker in San Francisco
In an effort to combat rising postage
prices, the Original Cast alumni
newsletter is now offered in both
print and digital formats! Hosted
on our recently revamped webpage,
h t t p : / / www . v a n d e r b i l t . e d u /
originalcast (thanks to Cast senior
Will Hedgecock), the past year of
newsletters as well as all future
newsletters will be available in full
color, under the “Alumni” tab of the
website.
If you would like to sign up to re-
ceive only the digital copy, via
email, there is a link, also on the
alumni tab, where you can register
your email address (and be removed
from the regular mailing list).
Be sure to check the web site often,
as there are updates being made
frequently, including photo albums
of the past four shows, recorded by
junior Christen Sottolano’s father.
In other exciting news, as we were
cleaning out our storage last semes-
ter, we stumbled on a box of Origi-
nal Cast records, dated 1981. If
you were a part of this Cast and
would like a record, please contact
producer Katharine Vandergriff
(information at bottom). The album
will be digitally preserved; future
plans for the album have yet to be
determined.
Electronic Newsletter, and other updates.
Contact Information Alumni Liaison—Andrew Enkeboll ([email protected]; 334.444.8159)
Producer—Katharine Vandergriff ([email protected]; 817.907.6627)
Director—Tinsley Meloy ([email protected]; 813.368.2841)
Those in attendance of Spring
2006’s 30th anniversary perform-
ance may have heard the organiza-
tion’s founder, Phil Walker (class of
1977) invite that semester’s Cast to
California for a tour of the West
Coast. Last spring break, that trip
happened, and it was a once-in-a-
lifetime experience.
Most of the cast of the Spring Break
trip was also performing in the full
Spring 2007 show; consequently,
these members dedicated at least 20
hours each week to Original Cast.
The traditional “By-Request” set
performed included recent favorites
from musicals like Wicked and Bat
Boy as well as a throwback to the
first Cast show ever, singing
“Corner of the Sky” from Pippin.
Our on-campus preview show, in
the style of the first Cast perform-
ance ever, was also held in the
Branscomb Rec room. Thanks Phil
for a great trip!
Spring Break 2007
Last year, the Vanderbilt Perform-
ing Arts Council, or VPAC for short,
was founded. The mission of VPAC
is to “create an environment for
the leaders of student performing
arts groups to share ideas, form
new collaborations, and have a
unified voice in expressing views
and concerns about the perform-
ing arts on Vanderbilt's campus.”
This fall marked the first of an ex-
VPAC: Spotlight! Fall Showcase citing new event—Spotlight!: A
Showcase of Vanderbilt Student
Performing Arts. This performance
in Ingram Hall gives all of the
groups a quick chance to perform
for incoming freshmen. We opened
the show with the classic “Seasons
of Love” from Jonathon Larson’s
Rent. The show was a huge success,
and resulted in an equally amazing
new Cast with amazing new mem-
bers. Dress rehearsal at the VPAC Spotlight Performance
PAGE 2 THE ORIGINAL CAST FALL 2007
Meet the Cast Fall 2007
PAGE 3 THE ORIGINAL CAST FALL 2007
Senior Tinsley Meloy from Tampa, FL,
returns for her 6th semester in Cast and
second semester as Director. She spent her
summer in NYC working on Broadway.
Major: HOD, Minor: Music and Psychology.
Sophomore Leslie Kelly from Tampa, Fl,
returns for her third semester in Cast and
first semester on board as Publicity Direc-
tor. Major: Communication Studies, Minor:
Theatre and Spanish.
Junior Eli Branson from Henderson, KY,
finally joins the Cast for his first semester.
Eli is very active in the Vanderbilt Univer-
sity Theater. Major: Theatre.
Junior Jen Winikoff from Woodcliff Lake,
NJ, returns after a break for her second
semester in Cast. Major: Elementary Edu-
cation, Minor: Special Ed. (Deaf Ed. Con-
centration).
Sophomore Brian Collura from Fitchburg,
MA, who joined us on the California tour as
our accompanist, joins us now as a new
Cast member this semester. Major: Psy-
chology, Minor: Communication Studies.
Senior Meghan Backes from Cedarburg,
WI, returns for her fifth semester in Cast
and serves as our Business Manager. Ma-
jor: Psychology (Neurology concentration),
Minor: English
Freshman Nick Jordan from Houston,
TX, joins the Cast for his first semester.
Nick was recruited to play college baseball,
but fortunately (for us) chose Vandy. Ma-
jor: American Studies, Minor: Film Studies.
Sophomore Spencer Crosswy from The
Woodlands, TX, joins the Cast for his first
semester. He was the lead male in a pro-
duction of South Pacific over the summer.
Major: Electrical Engineering, Minor: Vocal
Performance.
Tim Hayden is returning for his 10th se-
mester as musical director. He does all
musical arrangements for the group, as
well as being accompanist during rehearsal
and performances.
Senior Katharine Vandergriff from Ar-
lington, TX, returns for her fourth semester
in Cast and serves as our Producer. Major:
HOD and Economics, Minor: Theatre.
Junior Marty Pendleton from Fort Mill,
SC, returns for his fifth semester in Origi-
nal Cast. Major: Communication Studies
and Political Science.
Freshman Emily Degerberg (daughter of
Jennifer Fritz, c/o ‘79) from Cincinnati, OH,
joins for her first semester and carries on
the Cast legacy in her family. Major: HOD,
Minor: Theatre.
Junior Anna Starnes from Richmond, VA,
returns for her second semester in Cast
and serves as our Costumes Director. Ma-
jor: American Studies, Minor: Chinese Lan-
guage.
Freshman Matt Russell from Lake Bluff,
IL, joins the Cast for his first semester.
Matt and senior Ryan Sturgis went to High
School together. Major: Economics.
Junior Christen Sottolano from Simbs-
burg, CT, returns for her fifth semester in
Cast and fourth semester on board, this
time as Technical Director. Major: Sociol-
ogy.
Freshman Oliver Wolfe from Columbia,
SC, joins the Cast for his first semester.
Oliver also shoots as one of the head pho-
tographers for the Hustler. Major: History.
Senior Ryan Sturgis from Lake Bluff, IL,
returns for his sixth semester in Cast. Ma-
jor: Political Science, Minor: Corporate
Strategy.
Sophomore Andrew Enkeboll, while not
performing this semester, is the Patron’s
Director and Alumni Liaison in his second
semester on board. Major: Computer Engi-
neering, Minor: Computer Science, Corpo-
rate Strategy