By Aaron Calvin
Last semester, Hofstra University hosted a panel of alumni from its Drama Program, including professionals from Broadway to Hollywood, and from television to the stage. But this event was missing one thing: a Hofstra alumnus as a director.
Richie Pepio began his journey with the works of playwright Christopher Durang in high school, but his real interaction with these pieces came while he was at Hofstra University. "To this day, I have never laughed out loud so much at something I was quietly reading to myself," Pepio said of his reaction upon reading one book. The Durang works that had caught his eye were Titanic and The Actor's Nightmare, both of which are currently being produced by The Hyper Aware Theater Company, a company that works to "push beyond the standard gimmicks of meta-theater into a world of pure emotion."
Pepio was so enticed by the plays that he decided to pick Titanic as his piece for a directing project as a Hofstra drama major. "If the movies Airplane and American Beauty had an inbred great grandmother, then perhaps it would look a little like this," Pepio said, describing the play.
Now Pepio and Hyper Aware have coupled Titanic with The Actor's Nightmare, showcasing Christopher Durang's work while exploring different subject matter. Joining Pepio in the theater company are Hofstra alumni Christopher Dippel, Ariana Murphy, Louis Aquiler, Chris D'Amato, Abigail Strange, and Gary Ferrar.
On reflecting on his time at Hofstra, Pepio said, "the network of friends I made at the school was an amazing support group, and outside of the fact that the cast of fellow alumni consists of some of my closest friends, they're also some of the most talented actors and comedians I know. The support we've received from Hofstra students, friends, faculty, and fellow alumni has been overwhelmingly positive."
Titanic and The Actor's Nightmare will be shown until April 10at The Access Theater.
