‘The Breakout Club’

NU theater students stand out from the pack

Story by Joshua Maloni
Photos by Joe Eberle

“But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain … and an athlete … and a basket case … a princess … and a criminal.” Top to bottom, left to right: Matthew Chavez, Lisa LeCuyer, Cassie Gorniewicz, Lia Sumerano, Brendan Cataldo and Candice Kogut.

A blank screen and title card shatter to reveal: Niagara University. Nighttime.

Monday … Nov. 6, 2006. Lewiston, New York. 14109.

Dear Mr. Vernon,
We accept the fact that Niagara University theater students work 24 hours a day, for whatever it is they’ve been assigned. But, we think you’re crazy to make us write these play reviews telling you who we think they are. What do you care? You see these actors as you want to see them … in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is each one of them is a Velma … and a devil … and a Roxy … a master of the duel … an apocalyptic cat … a husband … and a Gypsy.

Correct? That’s the way we saw them at 7 p.m. last night.

In John Hughes’ classic 1984 film “The Breakfast Club,” a group of mismatched high school students is forced to spend a Saturday afternoon in detention for various crimes each committed against their peers.

On Monday, a group of NU theater students in mismatched ’80s getups were forced to spend an hour on the Leary stage in recognition of various stellar performances each has given over the past three semesters.

To be clear, no one was pressured into writing an essay pondering the meaning of life. Rather, Lia Sumerano, 20, of Hurley; Candice Kogut, 20, of West Seneca; Lisa LeCuyer, 21, of Williamsville; Matthew Chavez, 20, of Amherst; Cassie Gorniewicz, 21, of Liverpool; Brendan Cataldo, 20, of Albany; and Jessica Young, 21, of Rochester, were asked to contemplate how stage success is fashioned … and to speculate on what happened to Molly Ringwald’s career.

What makes this group of seven actors stand out in a theater department overflowing with talent is hope – not theirs, but ours as an audience. College theater can be very good, or it can be mind-numbingly bad. As spectators of NU’s productions, we hope for the former.

In this area, it’s obvious “The Breakout Club” has excelled: Sumerano and LeCuyer were dazzling as the dual leads in “Chicago”; Kogut was deviously delightful as the devil in the “24-Hour Project”; Chavez and Cataldo stole the show at the “Festival of One Acts” earlier this year, delivering the funniest performances this writer has seen on Monteagle Ridge; Young was captivating as the title character in “Gypsy”; Gorniewicz has yet to find a role she can’t master, most recently earning rave reviews for her portrayal of Sister Helen Prejean in “Dead Man Walking.”

“They’re all very hard working and determined students,” Young said of the group. “They are a variety of personalities – they express that in their performance.”

Village of Lewiston Deputy Mayor Bill Geiben was in attendance Sunday for the final showing of “Dead Man Walking.” He praised the actors for making the audience feel as if they too were a part of the story.

“I’m very impressed with the caliber of talent,” he said. “Even the Reader’s Theater (which “Dead Man” was), the way it’s done, you can envision everything that’s going on.”

“What can be said of all of them is that they’re very focused actors,” said Brendan Powers, theater department artistic director. “Whatever role they’ve been assigned, they continue to work to get better.”

Determination and drive have, indeed, propelled these seven actors to the head of the class.

“Hard work and determination got us where we want to be,” Young said.

The writer L.A. Safian once wrote, “Egotism is nature's compensation for mediocrity,” and there is perhaps no bigger turnoff than a pompous actor. As an audience, when we’ve invested time and emotion into a character, we hope its creator is worthy of our cheers.

Spend time with this group and you’ll find nary a self-serving word – even when members are faced with compliments en masse, as they often are. They simply say “Thank you,” or “That’s our job.”

“The saying, ‘Leave your ego at the door,’ I sincerely believe that. You cannot give a good performance if you have an ego,” Kogut says. “Theater is a completely collaborative art.”

In “The Breakfast Club,” bonds are formed between people from different walks of life. Theater students at Niagara University have a reputation for getting along famously with one another despite differences in age, race, gender and level of ability. To say that that’s an accomplishment is an understatement. After all, these students are participating in a field known for its ultra competitive nature. While actors regularly face off with one another for roles, Chavez says, “It’s a team. You band together.”

“Everybody works on everything,” he continued. “Just because you’re not in a show doesn’t mean you’re not involved.”

Powers said that, in his time working with the department, ego clashes have been few and far between.

“I don’t see that a lot here,” he said.

What’s humbling is that, even for “The Breakout Club,” past performances do not guarantee future roles.

“You’re auditioning all the time – that’s your job,” Gorniewicz said. “You have to not take yourself so seriously.”

Adds Cataldo, “It’s about flexibility and adaptability.”

While “The Breakout Club” is no stranger to public awe, the group notes a large misconception still exists on campus: that what they do is easy.

“The average student works 17 hours a day. We work 24,” Gorniewicz said.

Most students on campus go to class, work and go home. Theater students spend their days in class (some as double majors); in rehearsal; in the tech room; and working with props. They also have to fit in working, having some semblance of a social life, and staging full-blown productions.

“Certain days it’s easier than others; certain days it’s harder,” Young said.

Yet, ask any one of the seven to trade careers, and they wouldn’t.

“There’s nothing else,” Kogut said.

“It’s not a choice,” Sumerano said. “It’s a passion. I couldn’t be happy without singing and acting.”

Through the grind, the competition for roles, and the rigors of outside life – in 2004 senior Tara Laurie passed away unexpectedly, as did longtime professor Tim Ward earlier this semester – theater students simply lean on each other and never lose focus.

“We turn that into something that brings us very close,” Young said. “We all have a common goal: To shine on stage.”

Shine they have, and plan to do even more so before graduating.

“Some great things are going to happen on this stage next semester,” Cataldo said.

The Niagara University Theater Department presents “The 24-Hour Project” on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 8 p.m., inside the Leary Theatre.