NU student, professor share stage at Studio Arena

by Joshua Maloni
Niagara Frontier Publications, February 2, 2008

Robert Rutland as Judge Taylor, Doug Zschiegner as Atticus Finch, and
Cassie Gorniewicz as Mayella Ewell. (photo by Jim Bush/Studio Arena Theatre)

Some actors are born with the bug.

From the time they learn to speak, they feel the need to share their thoughts, below a spotlight, in front of an audience.

That wasn’t the case with Cassie Gorniewicz. The Liverpool, N.Y., native says she didn’t really get into acting until the end of high school.

“I never took it serious,” she recalls.

Four years later, remarkably, the Niagara University senior has become one of the storied Theater Department’s standout performers. She played the female lead in last season’s “Dead Man Walking,” earning rave reviews, and a filmed a Telly Award-winning commercial promoting her school.

“Now, I feel I have a good basis to get out there and show what I’ve got,” she says.

On Tuesday, she made her professional stage debut as Mayella Ewell in Studio Arena’s production of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Buffalo’s largest production company, Studio Arena is a member of League of Resident Theatres.

“It’s been a wonderful opportunity,” Gorniewicz says. “It’s everything I expected.”

The opportunity to work with full-time performers – some of whom are members of the prestigious Actor’s Equity Association – “has been such a humbling experience,” she says.

“It gives me hope for the future, that I can become an Equity member myself,” she says of the union representing more than 45,000 actors and stage managers across the country.

As an added bonus, Gorniewicz is sharing the stage with Doug Zschiegner, one of her professors at NU – and the man who directed her this season in “Company.”

“It was a shock – I didn’t even know he had auditioned,” she says. “It was a good shock. I was elated.”

Zschiegner, himself an Equity actor, says he was approached by Studio Arena to audition for the lead character in “Mockingbird,” the role of Atticus Finch. The part, his first major one in 10 years, will further his tenure portfolio on campus. Beyond that, though, “It’s just one of the most satisfying and challenging roles to play,” Zschiegner says.

Cassie Gorniewicz

In Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Finch is a Great Depression-era widower raising his children, Scout and Jem. A lawyer by trade, he is asked to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, on charges he raped Mayella Ewell, a white woman.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” has been heralded for its portrayal of Finch as a man living and teaching racial unity in a time of great prejudice and unrest.

Zschiegner offers high praise for the script, and his character’s courage, saying, “To have those words when I need them would be wonderful in real life.”

For Gorniewicz, the process of playing the “bad guy” has also been interesting.

“The play wouldn’t be the same without her,” she says. “You need to see the other side (to discover how good plays off against evil).”

Both Gorniewicz and Zschiegner say the experience of working together as peers has been rewarding.

“We’ve been having a great time,” Zschiegner says.

“It’s been a pleasure to watch him,” says Gorniewicz.

Commenting on each other’s ability, Zschiegner says Gorniewicz is, “remarkably dedicated to whatever she does.” He believes she’ll make an impact on the Studio Arena audience.

“This role was really written for her,” Zschiegner says. “It plays to her strengths.”

Gorniewicz says Zschiegner, like Finch, has backed up his words with actions.

“He’s been a great example of showing us what’s he’s been teaching us,” she says. “That’s rewarding.”

Opening night for Studio Arena’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” is Saturday, Feb. 2, at 8 p.m. The show continues through Sunday, Feb. 24. To purchase tickets, or for more information, call the Studio Arena Box Office at 856-5650 or (800) 77STAGE or visit www.studioarena.org.

Doug Zschiegner