The Curtain Opens on the Fall 2027 LIU BFA Acting Season
BY: CAMILA TABORA / SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
With the rustling of the wind and the fall of the leaves, the new fall semester begins, as does the new performance season of the LIU Brooklyn acting BFA program.
Each semester, a group of shows debut on campus, including a main stage show and several capstone projects. All shows recently had their auditions, meaning that all productions are underway.
BFA majors are involved on all fronts: directing, writing, stage managing, and of course, acting. These plays are a great opportunity to see accessible high-quality theater. You never know if you might see a cast member’s name on a Broadway pamphlet or movie end credits scene in the future!
Here are all the upcoming shows, and a little peek behind the curtain at their production preparations.
Much Ado About Nothing
This semester’s main stage takes us all the way back to the Shakespearean era with this classic romantic comedy, directed by David Andrew Laws. Among Shakespeare’s most famous plays, this is a great introduction to his works, even getting a loose modern film adaptation with Anyone But You in 2023.
Performances will be on November 20 and 22 at Kumble Theater, and students will get a heavy discount on tickets. All sales go right back to the program.
The story mostly revolves around two intertwined storylines. Firstly, we have Leonato, the governor of Messina, who hosts his friend, Duke Don Pedro, alongside his soldiers after the war.
One of the soldiers, Count Claudio, falls in love with Leonato’s daughter, Hero. Don Pedro’s brother, Don John, however, devises a horrible plan to trick Claudio into turning against Hero, resulting in some ridiculous follies.
What is most famously known is the second plot that concerns Beatrice and Benedick. Both are considered the prideful, “eternally single” type, and are duped into believing that the other has romantic feelings for them. Eventually this leads to them actually developing feelings and coupling up, in the most classic enemies-to-lovers way.
Dmari (Mari) Johnson, who will be playing Leonato, is no stranger to Shakespearean work, having already been in a production of Much Ado as Claudio, in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and having directed a production of Macbeth.
“Much Ado is going to be taking place during a big party…so the set, costumes, and even the advertisements will show that. You will feel like you’re attending this big New York Party…which is definitely going to help the audience resonate and get a kick out of the show.”
Mari mused on the timelessness of this story, particularly in an entertaining sense. “My favorite thing about the show is #1 the drama! Shakespeare’s work is so beautiful, but also so relatable…I’m very excited to see [David's] vision come to life!”
Rehearsals start soon, but the cast has already gone over the script and had one-on-one Zoom meetings with the director.
“Auditions went great!” Mari exclaimed. “As someone who’s been auditioning for a while, they felt very organized and chill. The people casting were definitely supportive behind the table, and outside the room, everyone was supportive of each other!”
This is a great foray into Shakespeare’s comedies, which, as any Shakespeare fans know, are much more hilarious than most people realize. Coming from experienced actors, the staged readings will bring to life and modernize a classic work for all audiences.
The Four of Us
This senior capstone is the smallest cast of all, featuring only two characters, played by the two senior students themselves, Carter Harvey and Nolan Phillips. At the same time, they are both directing the show, which is a contemporary, dramatic comedy written by Itamar Moses.
These shows are at LLC Studio 015, slated for October 8 and October 10 at 7:30 p.m., and October 11 at 2:30 p.m.
The Four of Us presents Ben, a young man who immediately achieves literary fame with his first book. Alongside him is his best friend David, who also writes as a playwright, but with not nearly as much success. David is left oscillating between conflicting feelings of pride and jealousy, in a story about how stardom and money can affect even the oldest friendships.
“Carter approached me with this piece in the beginning of 2026,” Nolan remarked, “I felt like this sort of relationship was something that doesn't really get explored too often in theater. I also loved the way it was written because it is so natural and fluid to where it almost doesn’t feel like a play; it just feels like two people talking.”
Will Miller, the stage manager, reflected on the “unique process” of this structure of play. “The two lead actors of the play are also directing it themselves, so as the stage manager, I have a little more to look for than a stage manager on a standard show.”
“Things like stage pictures and blocking are really important in a play, and it is hard to direct yourself because you do not know what you look like.”
Nolan also mentioned how the play would become a particularly unique acting challenge, since “both characters feel really close to who we are, and we wanted to see how deep we could go with them.” However, the special aspects of the process were much alleviated by the strength of the directorial pair.
“The process of working with Carter has been really good; he is very passionate about the play, which is awesome because that’s really all you need to make a play great…there were a lot of challenges we have faced that truthfully, I don’t think I could have dealt with on my own.”
Fans of contemporary stories about the intricacies of friendship will love this performance, especially with its mirroring of the very real friendship of its directors and cast.
The Wolves
This dramatic comedy written by Sarah DeLappe is a capstone collaboration project between students Chloe Fitch, Lauren Robinson, and Natalie Stewart in company with director Will Steinberger. The dates for these performances are approaching soon at LLC Studio 015, with shows on October 9 at 7:30 p.m., October 10 at 2:30 p.m., and October 11 at 7:30 p.m.
The Wolves centers on a girls' high school soccer team during their pregame warm-up exercises. Each new day sees their conversations and dynamics evolve, including timely issues and plenty of drama and gossip. However, the play takes a dark turn, and the story ends up being a great lesson on the importance of friendship through difficult times.
The three directors, Natalie, Lauren, and Chloe, had been struggling to find a play the three of them fully resonated with, but once they were recommended this piece by a friend, it was immediately settled.
“We chose this play because we felt it reflected both everything we have learned about acting in our time at LIU, but also things we have learned about ourselves as well,” the three declared. “We loved the portrayal of female friendship and what it’s like to be a young woman in a complex political and social climate.”
Rehearsals have been steadily underway, with a very action-oriented, blocking-heavy behind-the-scenes. Gabrielle Karyss, alongside her capstone project, is also a part of the cast as #13, and said, “Our director, Will, is super great about leading conversations regarding the piece and our characters, which I find helpful. I think the cast is super amazing and great at bouncing energy off of each other.”
What is most heartwarming is how the play is a reflection of the three directors’ shared visions and unbreakable friendship. “Deciding to work as a trio on this was a no-brainer,” they noted. “We met our freshman year here at LIU and have been inseparable since. It’s part of why we chose this show! Our friendship is so important to us.”
This show will really resonate with those who love a female-driven storyline, with its many complex and ambitious characters, all joined together by the power of friendship and community.
Hollow Jokes
This capstone is an original play written by one of LIU Brooklyn’s own students, Gabrielle Karyss. Gabrielle will be performing as the lead, Lenore, as well as creative directing alongside the director, Rebecca Conaway. Currently, the shows are set to perform on December 10 and 12 at 7:30 p.m., with another on December 13 at 2:30 p.m.
Gabrielle is no stranger to the directorial scene, having already directed and produced multiple cabaret shows at acclaimed venue 54 Below, including Darkly Dazzling Musical Theatre, Cabaret For The Chronically Dramatic, and Femme Fatale: Songs For Girls With Teeth.
“Hollow Jokes is about a young comedian named Lenore who is basically trying to figure out who she is while also trying not to completely lose her mind,” Gabrielle says.
“She starts to feel like she’s being replaced when a new comedian, Valentina, joins the bar where she performs. As Lenore struggles with her career, her friendships, and her own expectations of herself, she has to confront how much of her identity is tied to being a performer.”
She describes the atmosphere as “Gothic”, and “a mix of comedy, darker moments” and “open talk about mental health in relation to anxiety and relationships.” Her process of writing it was “very gratifying,” coming a lot from her own experiences and what themes she was very passionate about sharing with a college audience.
When it comes to the creative side of the production, Gabrielle mentioned that everything was formed from a “playlist and Pinterest board.” Naturally, her past production experiences have influenced her mentality going into the project, and she has mentioned that working with her director has been a great experience thus far.
“Rebecca is super amazing. I love having a female director for this piece, and she fully understands the goal of the piece and how to direct using the core of the play, while balancing camp.” Gabrielle also noted that her direction during auditions allowed her to see many sides of the performers.
As of now, they are just starting their process with a full cast reading and will start rehearsals in about a month. Keep an eye out for their performances later this year, especially if you are a fan of pieces like Black Swan and coming-of-age themes.
College is a Cabaret
In this capstone production by student Erin Gerasimovich, we get a unique style of storytelling in the form of a cabaret night, with direction from Alyssa Kakis. Erin herself has performed in many cabaret venues and vocal-heavy performances, including at 54 Below, The Reverie Room, and Don’t Tell Mama, among many others. It takes the stage on December 11 at 7:30 p.m., December 12 at 2:30 p.m., and December 13 at 7:30 p.m.
The name is a spin on the classic Broadway show Cabaret’s famous title song “Life is a Cabaret.” However, it is thematically centered on the “college experience” surrounding “people and their own personal stories,” including “moving to NYC from home and how that impacted them, or triumphs in life.”
“The music is also surrounding my college experience and my type of music I like to listen to and perform,” Erin mentioned. She highlighted her love for Fleetwood Mac and classic rock in particular, hinting that “Silver Springs” is a likely contender for the show’s repertoire.
The other performers are also encouraged to bring their own songs and perspectives to complement Erin’s personal story.
The audition process not only gave the performers freedom to use any song outside of the category of show tunes, but also replaced the classic monologue portion with a 60-second story “about their college experience so far or something that stood out to them in college.” They were also asked to pick a song that best describes their life and elaborate. Erin described callbacks as ending in “a giant discussion about their lives.”
When asked why she chose the cabaret format, Erin mused on her relationship with singing and theater. “I never really wanted to connect my two passions…in a theatrical way like musical theater. I love both art forms so separately.”
“I started booking a ton of NYC cabarets across different venues and realized I didn't have to sing musical theater to tell a story. It’s about how you as the artist can connect to the song with your own heart, and a lot of the time you can see that in a cabaret environment.”
The cast starts rehearsals pretty soon. Do not forget to attend, especially if you are a classic rock music fan, or a fan of live music in general. This is definitely a great opportunity for those less familiar with traditional theater.
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