By Alyssa Opdyke
Michelle Corr is Fordham’s fieriest member of the theater community- and it’s not just because of her crimson mane.
Michelle and I sat down at our local Panera Bread over spring break — we are both Fordham neighbors and at-home neighbors of a very small Philadelphia suburb — for food, laughs, to compare home and school and to talk about her involvement in Fordham’s theater community.
Admittedly a “shy kid,” the sophomore, communications major and music minor first became involved with improv theater as a preteen to “open up a bit.” The love for all things theater has been in place ever since; she joined her first musical in seventh grade and began to seriously consider a career in theater in her junior year of high school.
Hoping to continue pursuing her love of theater after high school and immerse herself in Fordham, she has been involved in the performing arts since her first semester at Fordham. That fall, she joined the theater group The Mimes and Mummers, Fordham’s mainstage theater group based in Collins Auditorium. There, her first role was of the “ridiculous” hairdresser Paulette in Legally Blonde – a role she had played once before and a character she admits is her “in 30 years.” She has worked on a number of productions, most recently the rock musical Rent, a production she calls “exhausting” but well worth it.
Wanting to expand her theater repertoire, she joined Fordham’s Experimental Theatre Group (FET), a student-run group focused on “experimental productions,” including off-Broadway productions, student written plays and musicals.
There, she has assisted with various productions since her freshman year, and she made her on-stage debut in this fall’s production of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. She hilariously narrated the show as Storyteller, a role she enjoyed thoroughly because of its nature as “a parody of a person” and new opportunity to “die on stage.”
When asked about her favorite Fordham theater memory between the two groups, Michelle cackled and immediately remembered an incident during Bloody Bloody:
“Sally, one of our leads, was washing fake blood off of one of her arms between scenes, and missed her cue. We were in the wings and had no idea what to do—do we go on stage? Move on? Thank God, Ellie [Crane, FCRH ’16, who played President Andrew Jackson in the production] was improv-ing for like five minutes. She went up to AJ [Golio, FCRH ’16, a fellow member of FET who was not in the production] and asked his name. When he replied AJ, she said, ‘Me too!’ and everyone cracked up. It was great.”
Despite alarming incidents like this, Michelle finds unique strengths within and ability to collaborate among both groups, and appreciates the different acting environments and “close knit families” each group provides: “Mimes is different in that it feels more professional with the hired directors and assistance, and actually feels like it’s what you’re going to do in a theater career, where FET is more of a student group effort towards running and being in the production — but Mimes definitely also involves work as a group.”
Although a majority of FET and Mimes members participate in shows for their own extracurricular enjoyment, Michelle has bigger theater plans. “I’m going to be on Broadway, but in the event that doesn’t pan out, I would love to do publicity for a theater in midtown.” She chose to attend Fordham not only for its “opportunity for a real degree” and “insane sense of family,” but also to pursue her acting career both on and off campus. And that she has.
Beyond FET and Mimes, Michelle had the opportunity to film as an extra for the newly premiered Netflix sitcom “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” during the fall semester. Even though it was a long day of filming, she described the experience as “surreal,” as well as an excellent way to meet and learn from veteran extras.
Michelle even had the opportunity to speak to executive producer Tina Fey and guest star Tim Blake Nelson, as well as bask in the presence of series stars Titus Burgess and Ellie Kemper.
A devotee to Phantom of the Opera, Michelle is also currently studying voice with Andrew Drost, a company member of the show, who has given her “great acting and life tips.” She cites Drost, as well as Idina Menzel, Sarah Brightman, Ramin Karimloo, Lea Solanga and Orfeh as her primary performance inspirations.
Beyond her involvement in theater, Michelle is a member of the Rose Hill Society and Gloria Dei choir, is a Josh Groban devotee, loves exploring new neighborhoods in the city and has quite the hidden talent: rapping. “I can rap every single verse of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” [theme song] and “Ice Ice Baby.”
But unlike her usual spitfire and detailed answers to my inquiries, there was one last question Michelle couldn’t help but to hesitate on: What is her dream Mimes or FET show?
After a brief moment of delay, Michelle lit up and answered, Heathers. It could work for either Mimes or FET. But my absolute favorite show is Chess. It’s perfect.” She immediately requested that I watch it.
And with that passion, how could you not?
