|
|
-
Back home
Stars Over VEISHEA gets new director in Terence Goodman.
- Since high school, Terence Goodman has known about Stars Over VEISHEA
(SOV). In those days, Goodman would travel from his hometown of Fort Dodge
to Ames to see the annual spring musical.
Beginning April 10, Goodman will make a leap from the audience to the director's
chair when the SOV production of "Brigadoon" makes its debut in
Stephens Auditorium.
Goodman's journey from Fort Dodge to the acting world and back to Iowa and
Stars Over VEISHEA has been a long one.
For the past 30 years, Goodman has been a professional actor. He has performed
on Broadway in such musicals as "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Damn
Yankees."
He made Los Angeles his home for nearly two decades, where he consistently
found work as a guest star on such television shows as "Hill Street
Blues" and "Three's Company" or starring in feature films
like "Ode to Billie Joe."
After earning a master's degree in directing from Utah State, Goodman and
his wife decided to move to New York where he began a career once on the
stage - both in New York as well as with regional productions and national
touring companies. The first national touring company of the musical "Titanic"
that played in Des Moines featured Goodman in the lead role of Captain Smith.
Then came September 11. On that fateful day Goodman watched the second plane
hit the World Trade Center from the roof of his apartment building.
"In a few horrific moments on a September day in 2001 and the three
surreal days that followed, my belief system in this world completely changed,"
he says. "It was then, with a lot of questions, my wife and I decided
to move from New York City to become a part of Iowa State."
As a veteran of 100 stage musicals, Goodman was given the task of grooming
this year's SOV production. The actor had become the director.
"I began to think about what (musical) would suit the audience of SOV
and what could entertain but also could have something relevant to say in
these shaky times," he said. "It was not by accident that I chose
'Brigadoon,' a classical musical that I always believed had more to say
than the typical cotton-candy musical comedy version that I saw so many
times and participated in professionally twice.
What Goodman sees is an underlying love story based on the ideal that love
conquers all, which he says is an "ideal worth believing in, especially
now."
While the cast wasn't selected until early January, Goodman has been working
on "Brigadoon' almost from the moment he came to Iowa State as an assistant
professor of music. He says he has received wonderful support from individuals
throughout campus to develop television commercials for the musical and
bring in outside dialect coach from New York City.
But Stars Over VEISHEA isn't professional theatre.
Because of space limitations rehearsals are scheduled all over campus. The
schedules of the performers are so busy that Goodman has a hard time remembering
when the entire cast was available for any one rehearsal. The production
won't be able to get into Stephens Auditorium until just days before opening
night. Rehearsals are limited to three hours a night.
All of which are new to Goodman.
"I'm used to eight hour days," he said. "But I couldn't be
happier with the cast and production crew. They take direction very well
and I've been told we're farther ahead of any recent SOV production."
Once "Brigadoon" has completed its run and the spring semester
ends, Goodman will head back to New York to audition for a new musical.
This summer he will also be featured in a production of the musical "Ragtime"
in Syracuse, N.Y., and will direct "On Golden Pond" at the Old
Lyric Repertory Company in Logan, Utah.
"When I was hired, Sue (Haug, chair of the Department of Music), told
me they wanted me to continue my professional acting career," he said.
"I miss performing an awful lot. I miss being part of the New York
theatre community - that elite fraternity of working actors. I'm proud to
be a part of that fraternity for almost 30 years."
Around LAS
April 7-27, 2003
|
|
