A half century ago, the Warren-Youngstown area was still defined by its mostly blue-collar workforce as the region proudly continued to forge its place as a center of steel production.
But not everyone yearned for a life defined by what the mills had to offer.
Rather than do as their fathers before them did, a small group of young people wanted something different â to be something different. And while many werenât sure exactly what they wanted, they knew they wanted to be stimulated, to do something others hadnât yet done.
It was Jack Brizzi who was there to provide the spark.
âIâve always felt like the Johnny Appleseed of șÚÁÏÍű Trumbull,â said Brizzi. âBut instead of planting apple trees, I was planting the seeds of creativity.â
And what eventually sprang forth â the șÚÁÏÍű Trumbull Theatre â is now set to celebrate its 50th anniversary season with a trio of productions, beginning with Tennessee Williamsâ âThe Glass Menagerieâ in October.
Brizzi, a speech and theatre instructor who retired in 1992 after spending 27 years on the faculty of șÚÁÏÍű of Trumbull, not only introducing the art of theatre to students, but also introduced a theatre to the university.
âThose early years were really a fun time,â said Brizzi. âI was young, the students were young, and together we had all kinds of crazy energy. We didnât think about what we couldnât do, we only thought about doing what we wanted for the art.â
But the âdoingâ wasnât always easy those first few seasons. The theatre wasnât always able to seat more than 140 patrons, use computerized lighting and sound, or offer a full array of technical support via a design shop. In fact, there wasnât a theatre at all.
âWe got our feet wet doing small, in-class, one-act shorts in 1965, but were able to rent an elementary school auditorium the following year and actually take the stage,â Brizzi said. âBefore we had a permanent home on campus, I think I directed a play in every school building across the city.â
Donnagene Palmer, a veteran of the Kent Trumbull stage for the past 48 years, remembers the programâs meager surroundings over the first few seasons.
âSince we didnât have an actual space, those first few years of classes were held at Mullins Manufacturing, and the only materials we had were metal chairs that substituted for all our furnishings,â Palmer said.
Brizzi would secure himself a spot on the universityâs building committee, so as the plans were being laid out for what would become the Classroom Building, which opened its doors in 1970, the lecture hall within was sure to have a proper stage and lighting to accommodate theatrics.
âOnce we had (an actual stage) and props, it took some getting used,â Palmer said with a laugh. âWe were so used to being space restricted within a classroom, and now we were faced with this seeming vastness of space to work with ⊠and fill with our actions ⊠that was an experience onto itself.â
The early years of Brizziâs brain child saw the theatre stage many of Shakespeareâs biggest productions, including âOthello,â âMacbeth,â âHamlet,â and âKing Lear,â all heady material for young college students.
âWe did those productions because the job of a collegiate theatre isnât to make money,â said Brizzi, âbut to teach.
âA university theatre is an extension of academia, and those works taught students analytical and critical thinking, taught them language, speech, and how to face and overcome challenges.
âI didnât see any value in doing the same things that the community theatres were doing. They were in the job of entertaining. We were in the job of teaching. Being scholarly came first, everything else came second.
âI wanted to provide them with a challenge ⊠Shakespeare, and other more obscure works could provide that.â
After 23 seasons and over 100 productions, Brizzi faced a personal challenge after suffering a stroke in 1988. During his recuperation, Brizzi handed the reigns of the program â on an interim basis â to former student-turned-technical director, Gary Stefanik.
With Brizziâs guidance and mentoring, Stefanik would steer the program through the next five seasons before the university hired a permanent replacement, Daniel-Raymond Nadon, following Brizziâs 1992 retirement.
Nadon, who arrived at șÚÁÏÍű Trumbull from the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, knew he was in the right place the moment he arrived on campus.
âNot only did I love the actual space, but being a one-man operation appealed to me because it was completely up to me to create the season and the ideas we would showcase,â said Nadon. âAnd then there was Summer Stock, which was fun and active and provided a bridge to the community.
âBeing on this campus wasnât about being a cog in the machine, or just another person among many, but rather about being able to put a personal stamp on what was going on in the theatre, and to an extent, the community, and fostering that connection.â
Itâs those connections that kept Nadon on the Trumbull Campus for over two decades.
âTheatre provides a conduit to other people that is unlike any other,â said Nadon. âAs an instructor and director, you spend your time watching (students) as new theatre people, full of enthusiasm, and discovering the joy of performing for first time, and that is incomparable.
âIâve witnessed students switch majors after taking part in their first production because of this creative light that has been lit inside of them after taking the stage. And when you realize it is this program â and the people you work with â that affect that type of change on a person is incredibly inspiring.â
In 2014, Nadon accepted a position on the Kent Campus where he teaches courses in Theatre History, Script Analysis, Theatre and Social Change, and LGBTQ Theatre. He has directed more than 60 plays during his time at the Kent and Trumbull Campuses.
âPart of my decision process was that this is a one-person department that requires your full energy on a 24/7 basis, and what worried me was keeping that pace,â Nadon said with a laugh. âAt 33, it was great and I was like the wacky older brother; at 43, it was still good, and now I was more like an uncle to the students; but at 53, you ask yourself, âHmm, am I still up to it now that Iâm closer to being (the students') grandpa?â
âWe talk about challenging our students, and in this case, I looked at the opportunity to challenge myself. I no longer have any administrative duties and am now laser focused on what Iâm doing â teaching theatre to those that have the same passion for it that I do.â
In Nadonâs stead, the Kent Trumbull Theatre will enter its second half-century under the direction of Eric Kildow. Kildow comes to șÚÁÏÍű Trumbull from Coastal Carolina Community College in Jacksonville, North Carolina, were he was a drama instructor and head of the theatre department since 2011.
âLeaving here was bittersweet in that I realized taking care of this program was probably the most important thing Iâve ever done in my career,â added Nadon. âTo be the caretaker of such a storied program was a tremendous gift and a huge honor.
âBut that being said, I think itâs time for someone closer to (the students) age to take charge, and bring that same renewed spirit and direction that Jack Brizzi launched the program with, and that I was able to carry through my tenure.â
Photo captions:
Photo one - Mary Brizzi (left), Kathy O'Malia (center) and Sophie Romack appear in "Vanities" (1979).
Photo two - The cast of "Brighton Beach Memoirs" (1988).
Photo three - "The Mad Woman of Chaillot" (1976).