THROWBACK: Joseph Bromfield as Buffalo Bill in the 2006 production of Annie Get Your Gun.

Joseph Bromfield leaves Rollins with a standing ovation

By: Greg Golden

Posted: 4/24/09

Many know Joseph Bromfield as a fixture in Rollins theatre over the past three years. As sure as the sun rose over Lake Virginia, he appeared annually in plays in the Annie Russell Theatre and performed among the ranks of Rollins Improv Players. As he prepares to graduate, I asked him to explore one of his latest successes, Stage Fright, along what Rollins has meant to him and what his plans for the future are.

The Sandspur: How did it feel to have created Stage Fright, to see it on the stage, and receive praise for it?

Joseph Bromfield: The overall process was nerve-wracking, incredibly nerve-wracking. There was a lot of pressure put on the project from the beginning, as soon as we landed the McKean Grant, which is a huge honor for Dr. Cavenaugh: $15,000 to complete this work. As soon as we got that, the college was very much aware of what we were doing; the fact that it was about Annie Russell, all of a sudden the Rollins and Winter Park community was aware of what we were doing, and somehow-at the helm of it all-I'm the director and playwright, and there was a lot of pressure, but I remember sitting there in the audience of opening night, and the very beginning, just being-it was so surreal. It was really surreal to think that this line began in my head, and I remember writing that, and here it is, being said, and here's an audience around me, and I didn't really know if the audience was on board at first, that was definitely tense the first 25 minutes of sitting there with an audience around me for the first time, basically trying to not throw up because I was so nervous. But by the time we cut to intermission, the audience was on board. If I had to sum it up I would just say that the entire process has been a blessing. Just, I really feel like [it's been] a huge blessing.

TS: Who were your greatest influences in writing it?

JB: When I first read this question, my biggest, most immediate reaction was "Annie Russell," because this was so attached to her. On a broader scale, kind of the writers I look up to, my favorite writers; I really like Arthur Miller, I really like Tom Stoppard, George Bernard Shaw, Shakespeare. And then of course, Dr. Cavenaugh, my co-playwright. She was incredibly instrumental and, sometimes it felt like-I think initially-I thought that she was guiding me on this process, but then I realized that she had a lot more experience in theater than I did. The more we began working on it, the more I realized that we were collaborating. She wasn't guiding me and I wasn't guiding her. We were creating it together; going on the journey together, side by side, which was pretty empowering.

TS: Did you find out how Annie Russell's family responded to it?

JB: I think they were all very pleased with the work, they were honored by it, the fact that someone had taken the time to do all this research about their great aunt… they were very honored and they were very humbled by this whole experience, and being related to Annie. They were very touched, and I could tell by the way they were talking afterwards that they were. It hit home, it struck a chord. It landed.

TS: With the various theatre roles you've experienced, do you feel that it's most challenging to create character through writing, impromptu (in improv), or in performing another playwright's words?

JB: Each present his or her own challenges and unique opportunities. I don't know if it's because I've had the most experience with performing, and that's why it's easier for me to take another playwright's words and create something with that. For me, the most difficult, the most challenging, is creating the words, because improvised theater, it's a very demanding skill-set, there are a lot of skills that you need. You have to be able to listen, to be able to build, to have good storytelling capabilities, but it's all on the spot, it's in the moment. So the pressure-for me-it's kind of liberating, because you're just being you. Really, all you have to do is break down the other exterior stuff, and just kind of release yourself, and you make honest choices, whereas, with writing a play, there's so much more forethought and there's so much more details, and you can torture yourself to find the right word. You can write it and revise it forever. We're still revising Stage Fright! We're going to submit for a copyright, but we're still revising. We started writing in May, and if it were to receive another production, we could probably look at what works and doesn't work, and revise it again. You know, the writing process is just never-ending, whereas the performing process ends on closing night; the improvising process ends when the lights go down.

TS: With all the opportunities you've had here, how has Rollins helped advance you toward some of your dreams, and helped to accomplish them so far?

JB: It's really opened up my vision of what my world can be: it's not just Tennessee, it's not just Florida, it's not just the United States; it's the world, and that's really cool. And then on top of that, Rollins has given me the academic tools and the practical experience-the vocational experience-that I need to enter the world as an artist.

TS: Do you feel like you're ready to get out of here?

JB: Yeah. I feel-I mean, I'm going to miss the hell out of Rollins, I would be lying to say that I weren't, but I feel like Rollins-I mean, Rollins is great in many ways, but it is a bubble, and it's very comfortable for me now… When I first came to Rollins it was not comfortable, but after four years, after the things I've had the opportunity to do in those four years, Rollins is too comfortable for me, and I need to get out and push my comfort zone, because that's when I'm learning the most-about myself, and just in general- is when I'm out of my comfort zone. But I will miss it.

TS: Having that comfort zone-would you say you have a mentor here?

JB: I read that question, and I was like-I've got so many mentors, in so many different ways. I'm here because of Thomas [Oullette]. Dr. David Charles has been an incredible mentor for me, as an improviser and as an actor, and he's directed me, and he directed me in my capstone. But my mentor, when I think about a mentor here, it's Dr. Cavenaugh. She's a phenomenal professor, phenomenal woman, and some of that is just the sheer time that I've spent with her. I've, spent so many hours in the archives with her, so many hours collaborating on Stage Fright with her. She's just my Orlando mom. I can go over there and have dinner with them, and she's fantastic, and she's an incredible resource. The thing I love the most about Rollins are the people. And she is a prime example of that.

TS: A newsletter for the Annie Russell Theatre announced that you are a finalist for the Fulbright Scholarship. Have there been any developments?

JB: Over Spring Break, I found out that I was accepted at LAMDA, which is the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and that's the program that the Fulbright would pay for, but the Fulbright doesn't have anything to do with LAMDA, so I had to get into LAMDA of my own accord, with is a one-year classical acting training program, strictly vocational. If Fulbright happens, then it's a no-brainer; if the Fulbright does not happen, then it becomes a little bit tricky as far as how I am going to find the funds to do that. But I'm going to try to make it happen.

As we departed, Joseph told his plans for that night, which was just as telling of his time at Rollins: "I'm going to an Orlando Magic game, to-for the first time in four years-be a college student." He has truly devoted himself to his art, and for that, we thank him.