Every month or so we highlight one of our volunteers, so that you can get to know the people who help keep this theatre humming along...and maybe so that can feel like you've got a friend at Studio Roanoke, even if you haven't been down to see us yet. Volunteer Spotlight:
Stephen Glassbrenner
Bio: Stephen (Stevedogg) Glassbrenner grew up in the Roanoke area. He’s always been performing. He stumbled back onto the stage via No Shame Theater and Hollins University. He has acted in various film projects, the musical Chicago (Amos) and most recently, Donnie and the Monsters for Studio Roanoke (Donnie). Stephen is eagerly awaiting his next large project. He also plans on going back to school for theatre.
Why Theatre?
It engages me on so many more levels than most things can.
How did you get involved in Studio Roanoke?
I got involved with No Shame Theater at Mill Mountain and followed it over to Studio Roanoke. You can catch me there most Friday nights at 11pm.
What’s the best theatre experience you’ve had?
The realization that I had found what I have been looking for. Driving home from Hollins after the initial cast read through for Chicago I had my epiphany. Best. Experience. Ever.
The worst?
That secret is kept only by an unlucky park in Franklin County and the 4 people that saw it.
What’s your favorite thing about Studio Roanoke?
My office. And the fact that no one else knows I built those terrible shelves inside of it.
Least favorite?
That I just told people I built the damn shelves.
If you could choose any play at any theatre, what would you most like to work on?
The allure is always to the bigger audiences I guess, but sometimes you simply end up with a large unresponsive audience. Give me a small responsive audience thirsting to be entertained, material I believe in and something inside of me just clicks.
What do you hope people say about you?
I have learned that (neutrally speaking) the traits I strive to be noticed for, rarely tend to be the ones I'm remembered for.
What do you think we say about you?
You all probably say that I'm on the cutting edge. The catch being that no one's really sure which edge I'm cutting.
What we actually think of Stephen is…
That he has more heart and feels more deeply than any three of us combined. Steven first came to No Shame after a wake for one of his poet friends who had passed away. He did his signature piece "Lunchbox" under the name Stevedogg (The second G is for Quality) he's been a No Shame regular ever since.
Before we opened, Stephen and his large poetry community were organizing Poet's Fire Slam events and donated the entire door of one slam up at Hollins University to help us get started at Studio Roanoke. We also appreciated his organizing slam events for us in the new space as well as his continued participation in the Poetry Lounge, No Shame, Best of No Shame, and the Acoustic Lounge. Stephen is also a very talented singer/songwriter/buitarist!
When we were getting the new theatre ready to open, Stevedogg was among the first to volunteer to help build platforms and sets and then started learning to be a stage manager, working on Ant Farm.
We saw Stephen perform at Hollins University in Chicago and knew he'd be perfect for the lead role in Donnie and the Monsters and couldn't have been happier with his work on that show, especially in light of some family tragedies that occured during that time. His dedication and talent were obvious to everyone and we couldn't be more grateful for his contributions to the theatre.
We look forward to his help on upcoming projects!
We're always looking for volunteers. If you would like to get involved, just stop by and tell us! If you aren't in the neighborhood, drop us a line at 540-343-3054 to tell us you want to help and we'll suggest some ways to get you started. Or, you can email us at info@studioroanoke.org.
