Siena College theatre students are taking to the stage this semester as working actors at a local playhouse. Marah Chabot ’12 and Catherine Santino ’13 have supporting roles in the upcoming production of The Pirates of Penzance at the Cohoes Music Hall. Each student will receive academic credit for the internship, which is a first-of-its-kind for the College's theatre program.
“This is a testament to the reputation of our program and the training and talent of our students,” said Paul Ricciardi, assistant professor of Creative Arts. “It’s rare to get students an acting-based internship like this.”
Typically, theatre students participate in internships where they work behind-the-scenes or assist the actors on stage. In this internship, the Siena students will be performing. “It means our students are leaving here with professional credits on their acting resume,” Ricciardi said.
The students are working at Cohoes Music Hall under the supervision of producer Tony Rivera, who has collaborated with Siena’s theatre program on various projects. Rivera most recently directed Siena’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee last fall.
“It’s a win-win for Cohoes (Music Hall) and Siena,” Ricciardi said. “They get to use local talent and we get to strengthen our connection with a professional playhouse. We have many students who are interested in pursuing musical theatre upon graduation and this is one way for them to explore the field.”
The Pirates of Penzance runs from February 9 through February 19 at the Cohoes Music Hall.
