“THIS WAS MUSICAL THEATER”
The Hudson Valley area is one train ride away from New York City which puts a lot of theater professionals in the Dutchess County area, and one of those creatives is Andrew Karl.
Karl works all over the Hudson Valley area with adults and kids as he shares his wonderful theatrical talents. He got his BFA from Ithaca College in upstate New York. At the start of the pandemic Karl went back for his masters degree in Arts Administration from Baruch College.
From a young age Karl knew he had the musical theater bug, even traveling to Poland for a drama school convention. “I saw a company called Teatr Zar perform a piece about identity, love, and suicide that used music, dance, and text. I had an awakening while watching that show: “THIS WAS MUSICAL THEATRE”
Despite getting his degree in musical theater, Karl has switched to the other side of the table and is using his innovation for the production of shows. He has been a part of many great projects even founding The Mimesis Theater Project. This project focuses on theater being divisive and uses text, music, and dance to be collaborative.
While being an adjunct professor and the spring musical director at Marist College, he is also the Theater Program Director at The Boys and Girls Club in Newburgh. “It’s a real treat. Both school districts have a lack of theater arts curriculum, so I feel privileged to bring this work to communities that need it. We currently run three classes: Musical Theatre Kids!, Fit 4 the Stage! and Teen Acting.”
Theater professionals were all impacted by COVID-19 and faced challenges with putting on live performances. “What I am finding now is how much people need theater. And here is this ancient form of storytelling that asks you to talk and feel and make and commune. COVID was a journey, but I feel more excited about making theater than I ever have because of it.”
Now that the pandemic is improving, Karl is a force to be reckoned with in the Hudson Valley as he works on a multitude of shows. Most recently he did ‘The Book of Will’ at The County Players in Wappingers Falls and next up on his schedule is ‘Into the Woods’ at Marist College.
Karl sees this ‘Into the Woods’ as taking two dimensional dreams and making them a 3D reality. “As a Director of traditional work, I believe that my job is to bring the original intentions of the playwright to a modern audience. I am not someone who thinks we should ‘update’ shows.”
Theater is not about forcing yourself to fit into a part, it’s about adapting the text to the modern day and entertaining your audience. Karl focuses on creating a safe warm space to rehearse and perfect the shows he works on. He puts his whole heart and soul into what he is working on and it shows on opening night.
As someone who was forced to conform into the ‘ideal’ persona for musical theater Karl does not condone this. “When studying acting in college, I found out who I actually wasn’t.” Theater is all about expression and Karl makes sure all of his people are feeling happy and excited to work.
Here is a link to his website where you can contact him. http://www.andrewgarretkarl.com/about.html
