By Julian De Ocampo ’13
THE ROUNDUP
The orchestra pit begins to play, the lights dim and the crowd falls silent as actors and stagehands take their places.
As the curtain rises, Nick Wren ’12 emerges on stage dressed as Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman living in turn-of-the-century Russia.
“(Nick) worked tirelessly on the role, perfecting the physicality and the vocal qualities the role of Tevye demanded,” said “Fiddler on the Roof” director Mrs. Janice Robillard. “The fact that he did so with a broken foot the entire time was to his credit, as well.”
Wren sang and danced his way through Brophy/Xavier theatre’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof” with skill, but he is no stranger to theater.
As a sophomore, he appeared in “The Music Man,” and as a freshman, he had roles in “The Baseball Show” and “Grease.”
“Nick has grown a great deal as an actor; he is a joy to work with and to know,” Mrs. Robillard said.
Although three of the four productions that Wren has appeared in were musicals, he said appreciates the value of both plays and musicals.
“I think musicals are flashier and in terms of just having a greater response from the audience,” Wren said. “But plays can be interesting just in terms of acting experience, so they can be fun too.”
Actors in the musical rehearse until 6:30 p.m. every day for about six weeks, and the rehearsals leading up to the musicals often last until 8 p.m. There’s also the daunting task of memorizing all the lines in one’s free time.
Wren also plays percussion in band and runs the 4x400m relay and 800 meter race with the track team in spring. He said he is unsure about whether he will be able to participate in a production this spring due to his schedule.
Although overall happy with his performance, Wren said he is determined to take his acting skills to the next level.
“There’s always room to improve and make it great,” he said.
However, in the case of “Fiddler,” the audience was the judge of Wren’s performance. When Wren took the stage to bow, the audience stood and the theater erupted into applause.