S T E W A R D ARTS
When did you first get involved in theatre?
I performed in my first show with Virginia
Repertory Theatre when I was eleven
(Madeline’s Christmas), and then joined
the cast of my first Steward show the next
year, when I was in seventh grade. I played
Addaperle in The Wiz, and Craig Smith was
my first director at Steward; he’s incredible. I
had seen several Steward shows before that,
and watching the talented older kids was so
inspiring. When I joined the cast of my first
show, the older kids made it feel like such a
welcoming environment. Even though I was
only twelve at the time, I didn’t feel out of
place.
You have performed in both musicals
and plays at Steward. Do you
have a preferred genre of theatre?
I AM A
STEWARD:
EVELYN DUMEER ’19
Senior Evelyn Dumeer has been acting in
Steward theatre productions since she was
twelve, and has been performing in shows
put on by professional theatre company
Virginia Repertory Theatre for even longer.
Having just finished up a run as Velma Kelly in
Steward’s production of Chicago: High School
Edition, Evelyn is now in her final stretch of
performances both at Steward and in the
Richmond theatre community. We caught
up with her as she reflected on her theatre
experiences and how they have inspired her,
both onstage and in life.
I’m more drawn to musicals typically because
I love singing and dancing, but I appreciate
both musicals and plays equally. You can cover
more nuanced topics in plays as opposed
to musicals, because you don’t have that
commitment to a big production number.
Plays are a really incredible medium for social
issues and historical dialogues. I think it’s
important for musical theatre actors to do
both, because acting in plays teaches you to
build characters and stay focused in a way
that can be difficult when you’re performing
in musicals.
Do you have any particularly memorable
shows from your time at Steward?
Anything Goes (our spring 2018 musical)
was one of my favorite shows that I’ve ever
done. I played Reno Sweeney, and I had
never performed in a musical with that much
choreography before. It was Susan Sanford’s
first time directing a musical at Steward, but
she choreographed the whole thing herself
and she did a marvelous job. All of the shows
are special, though, because of our amazing
community. At the start of rehearsals for every
show, there are people who have never done
theatre before, and they end up loving it, and
it’s wonderful. I love the fact that we always
embrace them with open arms and they get to
join our little family.
What’s next for you in terms of acting?
I will be attending Emerson College in
Boston in the fall, majoring in Theatre and
Performance, but I plan to come back to
Richmond in the summers and work at the
Virginia Repertory Theatre. After college, I
would definitely like to continue musical
theatre, wherever that may take me.
An Artist and a Scholar
Along with her many theatrical accomplishments, Evelyn Dumeer
also received the honor of Commended Student in the 2019
National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended Students are
those who placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.6
million students who took the 2017 PSAT and were recognized for
their “exceptional academic promise.”
The Colonnade |
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