For the past few years, Ben Swope ’99 has been lighting up Broadway—currently as associate lighting designer for The Realistic Joneses, “an outrageous, inside look at the people who live next door, the truths we think we know, and the secrets we never imagined we all might share.” His earlier Broadway productions include Fela! which tells the story of the great Nigerian musician Fela Kuti through his songs and the choreography of Bill T. Jones, and Ann, a one-woman show about Ann Richards, the Texas Democrat who jabbed that George W. Bush “was born with a silver foot in his mouth” during the 1988 Democratic national convention.

Swope majored in theatre design and production at Keene State, specializing in lighting design, and his career path has obviously paid off. “I am proud to say that between that study and the personal experience I brought to KSC, I was able to begin working professionally immediately after graduating in 1999,” Swope said, “first as an intern at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, MA, and then as the production electrician at the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston where I oversaw crews installing and setting the lighting for the productions.”

Always looking to expand his horizons, Swope went on to earn an MFA at NYU’s Tisch School for the Arts. “My career in the theatrical lighting industry is broad and expands beyond the bounds of theatre,” Swope explained. “I am part of a team of designers who light retail windows for Tiffany’s flagship store on Fifth Ave. in NYC as well as for the Barney’s store and Cole Haan’s flagship at Rockefeller Center. I have also worked as an assistant to a few architectural lighting designers. … In 2013, I visited 11 countries as the lighting designer and production supervisor for the Battery Dance Company’s Dance to Connect program, which takes dance and movement to underserved communities in all corners of the world. Our 2013 tour included Greece, Romania, Hungary, Georgia, Macedonia, Malta, Germany, Laos, Thailand, and Nigeria. It is one of the most exciting opportunities this career has offered as I am able to visit places I would otherwise not likely visit.”

Sounds like a rewarding career, doesn’t it? “I’m proud to have made it where I am today and hope I can continue to grow personally and professionally,” Swope said.

What’s a swing dresser? It’s a stagehand who maintains the quality of the costumes worn in a theatrical performance, each time it’s performed. Dressers are responsible for assisting cast members with backstage costume changes, when necessary, and they often assist with quick costume changes. As a swing dresser with The Book of Mormon on Broadway, Molly Jae Chase ’10 had to learn six of the dressing tracks for the show so she can handle one of them at any time. “At The Book of Mormon they are all extremely fast paced and heavy loads with around 30 quick changes each,” Molly explained. “It is extremely hard work, but the most fun I’ve ever had at work.”

Though she originally wanted to be onstage, Molly fell in love with dressing when she filled an empty dresser’s slot for the production of Fat Men in Skirts during her junior year. “From that moment I spent more and more time in the costume shop during my time at Keene State, and with the guidance of the incredible professors in the KSC TAD program I have been dressing fairly steadily ever since,” Molly said.

It seems that Molly acquired more than just technical skills as a Theatre and Dance major at KSC. “I learned how to be confident in both myself and my craft,” she said. “I learned about the importance of professionalism, and community. I learned how to think outside the box and not be afraid to take risks. I learned about hard work and versatility and drive, just to name a few.”

“Our program has something every school should be jealous of, and that is teachers who inspire,” Molly remembered. “The professors make sure that they reach out to every student in every class and somehow make the students crave learning about their craft. We have an extremely driven department that makes sure we not only have the skills we need to do the things we want, but also the skills in crafts that affect what we want to do. As someone who focused on costumes, I also had to take carpentry, acting, and scene painting, etc. Some students took a directing or a stage-managing class. And students studying to be actors or dancers had to have one credit that had them participate as part of the backstage crew, and vice versa. We were constantly inspired by our mentors, and they taught us that hard work is the only way to really get where you want to go, and that you can do it without being cutthroat.”

Design and Technical Theater major Christopher Bell ’11 was recently back at the Redfern, working behind the scenes with Pilobolus for their big show in October. Shawn Ahern ’10 introduced Bell to some of the Pilobolus executives, who said they were interested in having Bell intern with them, and he jumped at the chance. “The first time they performed at Keene State in 2007, they really inspired me, and I knew how great it would be to work for them,” Bell said. “I really enjoyed their organic process and how family oriented they are. I was able to learn many different sides of the business while also channeling my own creative energy into something tangible.”

Since Pilobolus is a world-renowned company that works with artist all over the world, Bell’s work with them opened the door to many important professional connections. “I hooked into a group of artists that were creating the holiday window for Bergdorf Goodman, the luxury-goods department store on Fifth Ave. in Manhattan, and they were looking for someone of my skill set,” Bell explained. Not long into that project, it became apparent that Bell would need some help. “I mentioned Gary Beisaw [’12] to them. They had a phone interview with him that night, and Gary flew out from Texas a few days later.”

“The project involved a process called resin casting which was I was not too familiar with,” Bell recalled. “It required lots of mold making and very precise chemistry to create pieces of art to be used in the display. I never expected to be doing anything like this, but my professors at Keene were very adamant about staying open to new things and to keep challenging yourself. It wasn’t about what the degree did for you; it was about what you did with the degree.”

“When I left Keene, I took the opportunity to try everything. Though my degree is in Technical/Design, I took classes in dance and acting and even did some performing. I was constantly striving to be well-rounded. My professors always stressed the importance of collaboration. The conversation between directors, performers, designers, and technicians is vital, and I wanted to understand things from all these perspectives. That let me acquire new skills, and I was able to keep creating, which is what I most enjoy. My hope is that I will never be complacent and I’ll continue to grow and challenge myself as an artist.”