by Chelsia Marcius
Reporter
Hudson resident Allison Bressi enjoys nothing more than seeing her time and commitment to the theater played out on stage.
"It's a relief just to sit back and watch the people I've worked with get up to this point," she said. "Bringing an audience in opening night heightens the energy and to have [the actors] get that applause is really neat."
Graduating from The Ohio State University this past spring with a minor in theater, Bressi, 22, will now direct the Aurora Community Theatre summer musical "Little Shop of Horrors," opening July 5 at 8 p.m.
Collaborating with a production team since May, Bressi has faced several challenges while preparing for the show's first performance.
"'Little Shop' is pretty intimidating to direct, especially when the lead character is a huge [plant] puppet," she said. "It is also a comedy with a clever script, [therefore] we needed actors who could not only sing but also pull off that comedy while still making [the story] believable."
Despite such obstacles, Bressi enjoys the position, noting that: "With directing, you get to collaborate with everyone -- crew, actors and designers. You get to be part of the big picture."
Beginning her theater career at Aurora Community Theatre in 2002, Bressi supplemented her outside endeavors with acting, prop, costume and publicity studies at Hudson High School. Assigned to the stage management crew after one unsuccessful Aurora show audition, she developed a love for behind the scenes work, producing her first musical two years later.
Directing several shows including "Songs for a New World" and "A Chorus Line" at Aurora and co-directing "Tic-Tic-Boom," "The Clean House" and "Aida" at The Ohio State University, Little Shop of Horrors marks Bressi's ninth stage production.
Planning to continue pursuing her passion in the fall, she is in the process of applying for internship positions to several New York theater companies.
"I want be able to direct professionally for the rest of my life as a career rather than as a side project," she said. "To do this you need to have exposure in all fields including musicals, straight plays, classic theater and new works. New York City [offers] all of these opportunities."
"Little Shop of Horrors" will run from July 5 through July 19 with performances at 8 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday evening at the Aurora Community Theatre, 115 East Pioneer Trail in Aurora. Seat selection and tickets, $15 each and $10 for those ages 18 and under, are available online at www.auoracommunitytheatre.com or by calling 330-562-1818.
E-mail: cmarcius@recordpub.com
330-688-0088 ext. 3145