In our last episode of our season, Steve chats with Mic Matarrese, an actor and professor for the REP and Department of Theatre and dance here at the University. Mic talks through his theatrical journey and how he made it to the REP. They dive into Mic's top favorite projects, focusing on the REP productions, and his creative process throughout his projects, rehearsals, and other art forms. He gives insight on his own rehearsal mindset and process. Steve then asks about the personal aspects of Mic, such as his array of accents and his experience with being a professional Game Master for Dungeons & Dragons. 

Steve is joined by University of Delaware professor, Leslie Reidel. Their conversation starts off with Leslie diving into his life in Brooklyn, New York and moving to Pennsylvania. He talks about where the arts entered his life and how in continued throughout his life. When he left college, he bumped into a friend on the street that suggested he studied theatre which turned into a Master's degree at Temple University. That meeting led him into teaching and directing throughout the city of Philadelphia. Then, sometime down the line, he met REP founder, Sandy Robbins, and came to Newark, Delaware. Leslie and Steve discusses the importance of art in life and academics, and the significance of theatre throughout time. Leslie portrays his expertise in this riveting episode.

In this special episode, Steve sits down with the seven UD students who are performing in our production of Medea. Each student introduces themselves, including their major and their theatre experiences. This group of ladies is very diverse, ranging from no experience to years of experience, from science majors to fashion majors, from freshman to seniors (and one senior citizen). Steve asks each of them what they have learned from this experience, how their rehearsal process was, and what moments have stuck with them the most. They chat about the different arts that they are involved in, during school and outside of school. 

Steve is joined by Stephen Pelinksi, a REP actor, director, and university professor. As Steve and Stephen are long-time friends, Stephen dives right into his Polish family background. After talking about his Polish family, they step into Stephen's world of acting and theatre. He talks about his journey into acting and his experience that led him to the REP. Stephen shows his true self of being a family man - he tells the story of building his family with his wife, Deb. They end the conversation with a beautiful discussion on spiritually. Stephen notes that he is still working on his spiritually and how "one must heal oneself to gain oneself."

In this week's episode, Steve sits down with two University of Delaware faculty members, Miranda Wilson of the English Department and Marcaline Boyd of the Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Department. Miranda and Marcaline shine their expert light onto the subject of our next production, Medea. They discuss the relevance of the play to today's culture and as Steve puts it "[how] not ancient it feels." This conversation leads into how important the arts and humanities are for today's society. The two professors share insight into their classrooms and the joys they feel when their students engage into the content of their courses. And at the end, Miranda and Marcaline will give an inside look at their personal guilty pleasure. 

In this week's episode, Steve chats with Keith Davis, the REP's Production Manager. Keith has been with the REP for quite some time, having hands on experience in most of the production departments. This father of two talks about his favorite aspect of his time at the REP, and comments on the sets he had enjoyed the most creating. Theatre has been in his life since his was a child, and he continues to immerse himself in the world of theatre. Steve and Keith get a little personal talking about DIYing some home projects, which connects to Keith's beautiful idea that theatre uses everyday life skills.

The tables have turned and our Interim Artistic Director, Steve Tague is the guest, interviewed by our REP actor, Elizabeth Heflin. Elizabeth approaches the conversation of Steve's directing from her perspective of being an actor directed by him in multiple shows. Steve talks through his journey from acting into directing, and now artistic directing. You'll get a glimpse inside how Steve approaches his directing in a rehearsal room. Steve also chats about how his personal life helped him make the decision to step off the stage and into the director's chair. 

Cheri Magid (playwright), Sarah Baskin (actor and co-creator), and Michelle Bossy (director) join us to discuss A Poem and a Mistake - a new, intriguing one-woman play inspired by Stephanie McCarter's translation Ovid's Metamorphoses.  McCarter's new translation exposes several difficult realities in the original work that previous translations have keep readers from seeing – problems in its representations of women, its handling of the gendered dynamics of power, and its depiction of sexual violence.

Translations are a product of their time.  In this episode Cheri, Sarah, and Michelle discuss candidly how the word rape is almost never used and sexual assaults have been glossed over throughout the years and many translations of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.  Join us for this discussion on how translations continue to greatly affected our current view of classic texts.