Chaminade Graduate Stage Manages Heartfelt Play

On Friday, Nov. 4, Chaminade University will be putting on Margaret Edson’s play “Wit.” It is being stage managed by Chaminade graduate Rachael Paeste. She graduated in May 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and is currently planning on going to graduate school to get her doctorate in Psychology.

Paeste’s involvement with Chaminade’s theater productions started when she was 20 years old. Her fiancé, Adam Brewer, was one of the go-to actors for the productions at the time. She would always wait around the theater as her fiancé practiced.

“It all started when I was at one of his rehearsals when the director, Brother Gary, asked me if I wanted to put creepy ghoul Christmas-carol type makeup on Curtis Washburn. I said sure and have been involved with them ever since,” said Paeste.

She has currently stage managed about six or seven productions before this one and has been part of numerous others. She was even the puppeteer for the giant plant in “The Little Shop of Horrors.” Paste has been involved in almost every Chaminade theater production since 2012.

When asked how she got into managing this play, she responded, “They were having trouble with finding a stage manager because of the heavy nature of the subject material, and there were a lot of people that couldn’t or didn’t want to do it. Because of this the technical director asked me to step in.”

“Wit” is about Dr. Vivian Bearing, and esteemed English professor that becomes diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The play then follows Dr. Bearing as she learns to accept her fate while also trying an experimental procedure that might save her life.

Paeste’s straight-forward, to-the-point style of managing helps to get her point across quickly and clearly. Even for an experienced stage manager like Paste, problems can still arise.

“I’m stressing a bit,” she said. “There have been a lot of snafus that occurred during the last two weeks of rehearsal … but we’ll just have to work harder. It’s a great play, and the actors all have a lot of potential, but we have such large props and furniture that it’s a real challenge moving them around the theater.”

She then said that having another week of practice would be great, but she’s confident in everyone’s abilities.

Fr. Robert Bouffier is directing “Wit,” which will be performed in the Loo Theater. Performances are on Nov. 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, and 12 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 6 and 13 (Sundays) at 4 p.m. General admission is $10 but is only $5 for CUH faculty, staff and students.