“The fight scenes are awesome!” Angelina Zaccaria exclaims at the mention of the Stevens production of Macbeth. She and her castmates have been working on the play for the past several weeks, and the show was this past weekend at DeBaun Auditorium. “I am a witch [in Macbeth], and I also get to sleep on stage. I’m happy about it because I’m practically playing myself,” she laughs. “I don’t really sleep because 19 credits and all of these clubs and homework! So, sleep doesn’t really happen. Will it ever happen? The world may never know, but I’ll keep you updated,” she says, all with a smile.
Macbeth was Angie’s first theatrical production as a member of the cast, though she has done tech for numerous productions over the past several years. Ever since intensive rehearsals began three weeks ago, her weekends have been booked and filled with Shakespearean verse and Director Bethany Reeves’s encouragements to practice witchy movements. Angie explained, “Macbeth was such a great show for my first experience with acting because I knew Bethany already from Choir and I was already friends with most of the cast going in from SDS and Choir. I’ve been doing sound tech for years and I love it, but I’ve always wanted to give acting a try. It’s great that I had the chance to do this and I would definitely enjoy doing it again in the future!”
Meet Angie Zaccaria. She is in her second semester at Stevens and is already very involved on campus. Between juggling commitments, like Choir, being Copy Editor of The Stute, doing sound tech for Stevens Dramatic Society (SDS), working at DeBaun Auditorium, and being a new member of Theta Phi Alpha sorority, she is also a Computer Engineering major pursuing a minor in Music and Technology as well as a Cybersecurity masters.
Additionally, she is a founding member and the manager of Floctaves, the new a cappella group on campus, which is a time-consuming but very rewarding endeavor she took on with her roommate and friends, most of whom she met during Performing Arts Pre-Orientation.
While she spends a lot of her time on stage, she is also familiar with all of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into putting on a show. She did sound tech for Schoolhouse Rock Live! (last semester’s Theta Alpha Phi (TAP) production – TAP is a theater honors society), she was the Sound Designer for The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 (last semester’s SDS production), and is Co-Sound Designer for SDS’s spring musical Spring Awakening. “Sound tech, I really like doing that,” she says. “I’m a techie at heart and find myself wearing all black even when it’s not tech week.”
Angie’s musical beginnings are rooted in piano. “My grandma taught me how to play ‘My Country ‘Tis of Thee’ by ear on a toy piano when I was little,” Angie explains. “When I was seven, I really wanted to learn piano, so I started taking [piano] lessons.” Once she learned how to read sheet music, she could play and arrange music for fun. “I occasionally like to arrange things when I have time. I am arranging ‘Little Talks’ by Of Monsters and Men. I have a bunch of harmonies in my head that make me very happy,” she says. Among her favorite musical artists are Sara Bareilles, Ingrid Michaelson, and Ed Sheeran. “I tend to like acoustic music, like soft pop. The music I like is pretty representative of the music I like to play on piano.” She adds, “music really helps me relax and get creative. I [also] sing and play the piano and ukulele.”
Angie adds, “The arts/music are so important at Stevens because students typically have such a heavy course load and really need music to relax and express themselves [and] do something they love.” Getting involved in something you are interested in is a great way to find your niche at Stevens.
Don’t miss these upcoming performances:
–Floctaves at Gear & Triangle’s Ducks on Display variety show on Wednesday 2/21 at 9 p.m. in Jacobus Lounge
–SDS’s production of Spring Awakening on Thursday 4/5 at 9 p.m., Friday 4/6 at 8 p.m., and Saturday 4/7 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
–Floctaves, Quackappella, and NJIT GigaBeats a cappella showcase at the end of the semester
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