Engineers Soar in Angels in America

Story Posted: Tue, Nov 6, 2007

By Sara Dier

When the curtain opens on Oregon State University Theatre's production of Tony Kushner’s award-winning play Angels in America on November 8th, playgoers may be a bit surprised to see a hefty gang of engineers on stage.

One of the most prominent plays in recent years deals with the subject of diversity while promoting awareness and discussion of modern issues. When it came time to cast the roles, many auditioned and only a few received a part. Out of a cast of only fourteen, five are engineers.

Derron Coles, received his PhD in civil engineering last spring, and he is currently working for OSU's Mathematics department. Nathan White, Kevin McIntosh, and senior Ryan Hodges are computer science majors. Josh Short is a civil engineering student.

Engineers aren't just acting in this play, they are involved in much of what goes on backstage as well. Ryan Alward, a junior in mechanical engineering, is one of the ace technicians, and the light board operator is Daniel Heinlein, a senior in computer science.

“It’s not unusual to have engineers in the plays,” says director Charlotte Headrick who welcomes the diversity of actors to her stage. “We’ve had a long tradition of participants from the College of Engineering.”

Acting and engineering have co-existed in the lives of many of these students. Hodges has been in previous University Theatre productions and has had a love for acting since childhood. “I was an active participant in grade school plays growing up, and started auditioning for children's roles in the local high school plays," he said. "By the time I got to high school I was totally hooked.”

Mixing with long time veterans like Hodges are engineers making their debut in this play. Coles has enjoyed his experience because of how different it is from his everyday life. “It is unlike any experience I have had before,” he said. “I am enjoying the challenges it presents.”

The issues that the play confronts had a powerful effect on Coles, who committed to the part of Belize last spring. “I believe it is more my interest in promoting education that drew me to this production,” he said. “In this instance, education around issues of diversity. I feel it is a powerful and relevant play that will hopefully induce conversations about differences and, more importantly, about the similarities between persons from the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans Queer Questioning Intersex and Ally (LGBTQQIA) community and the dominant culture.”

Such an important message is worth the labor of rehearsals and preparation for the actors. Each of them balances a heavy work load with their dedication to their passion for acting.

Hodges joked about his recent schedule. “I've given up sleep mostly, and replaced it with caffeine,” he said. With the amount of work that these men put into their fields of interest, it will be no surprise to see them putting just as much into their acting.

The show runs Nov. 8-10 and 15-17. Tickets are available at  the main box office in Withycombe Hall, open  Monday-Friday, 12 to 5 p.m., November 5-9, 12-16  and at 6:30 on evenings of performance. Tickets are also available on line at  http://oregonstate.edu/dept/theatre.

Angels in America is not suitable for children, and the show contains language and situations that some people might find objectionable.