A welcoming atmosphere, outstanding people and ready opportunities attracted Mya Brown to teach at SUNY Oswego as well as direct the spring production of “Pride and Prejudice.”
“I’m super excited,” said Brown, a visiting assistant professor of theater. “I actually initially came here with the understanding that I wouldn’t get the opportunity to direct this first year, so when they gave me the opportunity to direct, I jumped on it.”
With such a beloved classic, Brown realizes a need to strike a balance between preserving a favorite and providing a fresh energy.
“I definitely with my concept want to keep the integrity of the original story,” Brown said. “I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to playwrights and their words, and what their intentions are, so I really want to keep that traditional element there. We just want to add a bit of what I’ve been calling a contemporary heartbeat, just an essence to the play. So we’ll do that through the costuming, through the music and through the props and set.”
The people and the feel of the campus appealed Brown when she was interviewing at a number of colleges to decide her destination.
“The people that I met here were just some of the best people that I interviewed with,” Brown recalled. “I interviewed at several different places. I really loved the feeling that I got from all of the faculty and staff here. It felt really very intimate. It felt like a family. And I want to be a part of a family. So that was the major reason that I wanted to come here.”
She also enjoyed the chance to start almost immediately in meaningful, fulfilling work.
“The opportunities that were being presented to me as a first-year visiting were really great in comparison to other places,” Brown said. “So I was super-excited to just jump right in and get my hands dirty really quickly.”
Her first directing opportunity has been made even better by the students she’s working with.
“The students are awesome,” Brown noted. “They’re so excited about the process and they really have embraced me as a new person, and I’m just excited to work with them. They’re great.
The adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic will preview at 7:30 p.m. on April 20, with a regular run performances at 7:30 p.m. April 21, 22 and 29 and and a 2 p.m. matinee April 30, all in Tyler Hall's Waterman Theatre.
Tickets cost $5 for the April 20 preview. For the regular run, tickets are $15 for the general public, $7 for SUNY Oswego students with ID. Tickets are available at any campus box office, by calling 315-312-2141 or online at https://tickets.oswego.edu.