NEW PALTZ NEWS - Nico Torrez, ‘22 (Theatre Arts) will be making their directorial debut with a play they conceived at McKenna Theatre. “Pages From a Love Manifesto” was inspired by the various kinds of love and ideas presented in bell hooks’ all about love. This play explores various forms of love– self love, familial love, platonic love, romantic love– and the highs and lows, the joy and heartbreak, the fear, the anger, the bliss, and the fulfillment that comes with it. While awaiting their grand debut, Torrez took time out of their busy schedule for a Q&A with Lindsay Lennon, marketing and promotions coordinator for the School of Fine and Performing Arts.
Q&A With Student Director Nico Torrez ‘22
APR 29 2022
THE ORACLE - On Feb. 27 “Tell Them Tomorrow” a new play by SUNY New Paltz student Kevin Mischo, premiered virtually through the theatre department at SUNY New Paltz. Directed by SUNY New Paltz student Dom Torrez, the play contained actors live-on stage, masked, distanced and broadcast via YouTube Live. “Tell Them Tomorrow” is a complex yet youthful look into the mental inner-workings of one college student, “Lead.” A die-hard night owl with an angsty wit, “Lead,” well-played by Chris Lunetta, walks late at night (or early in the morning) around their SUNY campus lit only by the emergency blue light system. As the story unfolds, “Lead” must confront the tumultuous past with their ex as they confront the many parts of themselves, personified. Lead builds up these different personalities and versions of themselves to not only cope with their break-up, but also to piece themselves together as a fully developed self. They pose the question, how do you see yourself and how do you wish to be seen?
Tell Them Tomorrow: New Paltz Student-Written and Directed Play Debuts over YouTube Live
MARCH 4, 2021
AMERICAN THEATRE WING - “Just because theatre is suffering right now, storytelling doesn’t stop.” After a full semester of hybrid learning, the students and professors at SUNY New Paltz press on to tell important stories, even in their digital and socially distant landscape. Dr. Martine Kei Green-Rogers and junior Dom Torrez collaborated on SUNY’s first digital reading of the semester, “Cadillac Crew.” Department Chair Ken Goldstein and sophomore Natasha D’Amico-Rainbeau developed the set design for a safety-driven, in person reading of “Waiting for Lefty” as if it were going to be fully produced. As students and professors alike are forced to adapt to an ever-changing environment, these relentless creators inspire us all to continue sharing stories. American Theatre Wing’s Working in the Theatre documentary series features the most fascinating people on the stage, behind the scenes, and in the audience. From Tony Awards® and Obie Awards® winning artists to the next generation of theatre makers, we capture theatre’s inner-workings, industry luminaries, and unique stories that surround important work.
Working in the Theatre: Virtual Theatre in the Classroom, SUNY New Paltz
DEC 21. 2020
BROADWAY WORLD - When the theatre students of SUNY New Paltz were told they would not be coming back to campus, all of us began to grieve. We had two more productions that had yet to be put on for the spring semester. Our Praxis production of "14" and our musical "Spring Awakening" had been canceled. Actors, directors, stage managers, technicians, and designers were filled with disappointment that these amazing shows were not going to be put on. However, in the midst of all this uncertainty and confusion, a few of my colleagues within the department decided to find a way to still do theatre despite being quarantined from each other. Thus Virtual Theatre Collaboration was created. Virtual Theatre Collaboration, or VTC for short, seeks to connect artists and audiences regardless of the platform, through digitally capturing original shows written by students, directed by students, performed by students, and designed by students. They want to make the process and presentation of these shows as close to real production as possible despite being isolated from one another. I had the absolute pleasure to speak with Dominique Torrez and Natalie Houle, the founders of Virtual Theatre Collaboration. We discussed their organization, the process of creating virtual theatre, and what is next for them.
Creating Theatre in the Midst of a Pandemic
JUNE 25, 2020
THE ORACLE - On Friday, March 27, “14,” a dramatic play by José Casas, will make its SUNY New Paltz premiere at Parker Theatre. “14” will be directed by undergraduate Dominique Torrez and played by an all-student cast. The play is formatted as a series of interviews. Casas’ script is inspired by a 2001 event in which a smuggler abandoned 30 individuals who hoped to emigrate from Mexico to the United States. On this occasion, 14 Mexican nationals were left to die in the desert near southwestern Arizona. […] Though the play covers contentious issues of race, immigration and identity, the script does not seem to have an agenda; approximately 75% of the play is comprised of real life interviews verbatim, with some monologues combining the experiences of his friends and family with his interviews. With this factual approach to storytelling, the play provides a detailed gloss of the lives of characters near the southern borders, who vary in personal and political ideology.
Student Led Production Highlights Stories of Immigrants at Parker Theatre
MARCH 5, 2020