In the summer of 1995, I worked a three month internship at The Warroad Pioneer, which I'm sorry to say has since ceased operation. This was the first professional newspaper that I worked for in my career, and it turned out to be a wonderful experience. I had only worked at Bemidji State University's newspaper for about a year and half before landing the internship. At The Pioneer I gained experience in sports, feature, beat and government reporting. I designed pages, took and developed photographs and was responsible for community relations. The best part is that I remain friends with the owners nearly 30 years later.
June 13, 1995
By Devlyn Brooks
"Acting is kind of like a drug," said Andrew Segal. "People can be taken out of their own life for a while."
This is the effect that theater has on Segal, director of Warroad Summer Theatre's "Flowers for Algernon." Theater allows him to "voice an opinion on politics and life in general," he said.
"I can contribute to people in ways I couldn't in another job," he said. "I can contribute insights into life and open people's eyes."
Segal wasn't always interested in theater, though. He started college thinking he was going to be an engineer.
He said that at that time, he didn't want to be in the arts because his father was a playwright, his mother was a dancer and one of his sisters was an artist and his other sister was involved in film. He wanted to be the one who got out of the arts. It didn't work.
In college, he started getting involved in play productions, and he said that because of this he wouldn't get home until midnight sometimes. Then, he would try to sit down and do his math homework. After about an hour of that, he said, he would get tired of it and go to bed. He wasn't on the engineer track for very long.
He received his bachelor's degree in theater from Western Illinois University. He then pursued his master's degree at Case Western Reserve University so that he could teach, he said.
After graduating with a master's, he said that he asked himself, "Now, what do I do with a master's in theater?" ... Answer: He went to New York City.
In New York, he has performed on Broadway. He said that his first Broadway performance was a role in the play "King Lear" by Shakespeare. He said that he was doing a good enough job to get noticed by agents who found him other jobs outside of New York.
One of those shows was in Cleveland, and he said that he has had a struggle ever since to find work as an actor. "In New York, as soon as you stop working, they don't recognize you anymore," he said.
Segal even has a movie under his acting belt. "I enjoyed the project," he said, "but the film didn't do very well." During the project, he was also working on a play, which allowed him only two days off a week. So, on his days off from the play, he was flown to Washington, D.C., where the movie was being filmed. Then he was flown back to New York to do the play.
"Movies are like theater, when you start doing well, they treat you like a god," he said. "I gained a couple of pounds they were feeding me so well on the set."
However, for now, Segal isn't doing any acting. "I think I've retired as an actor," he said. "An actor only gets to put so much into a play. He only sees the limited scope of one character."
That is why he has been directing for 10 years on and off. He said that by being a director, "Anything you want to say through a production, you can say it.
"I see what the playwright wanted, and i can add what I want," he said. "That gives me more fulfillment than acting."
"Flowers for Algernon" will be the third play he has directed for the Warroad Summer Theatre. His first was "Diary of Anne Frank" last summer, and he said that it was the most memorable directing experience he has had.
"The experience of the group all working toward the same goal of exploring that play was so fulfilling," he said. "The people who worked on the play haven't stopped talking about it."
He said that he grew with that group, and "that doesn't always happen when you're the director." He said that when a director and an actor see things differently, friction can develop.
"It's not the final product that matters; it's the process," he said about the production of "Diary of Anne Frank." "It was just a complete experience."
Segal said that in some ways it is better to work with the amateur actors that are with WST.
One of the ways is that "there is an incredible amount of talent here," he said. In New York, there are a lot of bad actors that don't belong there, but they have degrees in theater because schools just graduate them. The schools just don't tell them how bad they are, he said.
It is different in Warroad though, he said. "I think the people here really want to have fun with it," he said. "This is a way for them to release.
"In New York, the enthusiasm wanes a little bit because there is so much competition, and it is a job," he sad. "New York doesn't always understand the fun part of it."
He said that another reason he likes working with the WST is that the people are so open. He said that Minnesotans are so willing to "throw themselves fully into a character, and are so eager to try something new." He said that a lot of actors in New York just get burnt out and don't like to open up anymore.
This past week has been a hectic week for Segal, because he was into the final week before the opening of "Flowers for Algernon." He also is currently rehearsing the play " A Mid Summer Night's Dream," which will be performed in about a month.
From 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. he is at practice with the cast of "A Mid Summer Night's Dream," and then from 5 p.m. on, he is at rehearsal for "Flowers for Algernon." He said that he has had problems keeping things straight at times.
When he isn't directing, Segal said he is doing another job, such as bartending or waiting.
"I'd rather not be bartending," he said, "but you have to make some money."
He also ends up doing some directing for free, just because of his love for theater.
"Theater is like the football player who plays just for the sport," he said. "You do it because you love it."
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