Evan DelGaudio ’12 has been a part of 13 Second Stage productions in four years, and that’s not counting dance performances. He has the battle wounds to prove it. The behind-the-scenes guru of student-run theater sat down with The Argus to discuss the dramatic arts, teaching, and his undying love for bears.

 

Argus: According to your Facebook, your interests include theater, math, and “badassery.”

Evan DelGaudio: [Laughs] Okay, yes. That’s true. I do all of those things. I knew that I wanted to do math from the beginning and then theater was something I just started in high school. And I think I just want to do both…in the most “badass” fashion possible.

 

A: Theater and math isn’t a double major a lot of people would put together. How often do your two majors intersect in your studies?

ED: I would say, in terms of the practical things that I learn in each major, very very little. I mean the aspect of theater I’m most interested in is technical theater and design, so there is certainly lots of mathematical thinking. But most of the math you learn as a math major helps you go to grad school for math, so it doesn’t really help me on a daily basis. But I think it’s a good right brain, left brain combination of double majors and I’m glad that I get to use both sides.

 

A: Did you ever toy with the idea of a combined thesis?

ED: No, no…just, no.

 

A: You’re only taking three classes, and for one of them you’re the TA. Why such a light semester?

ED: I’ve already done my dues, and I’m at the point now where I have the freedom to work on my extracurricular projects. And you know, in the real world, no one is going to care that “The Pillowman” was not a faculty thesis. They’re going to be looking at the photos and asking me about the work, so, working on a Second Stage show—or five—is an important and strenuous part of my schedule.

 

A: List all of the shows you have and will have done by the end of your Wesleyan career, and what you did/will do for them.

ED: All of the shows? Okay…in order: lighting designer for “Yalta,” master carpenter for “Sweeney Todd,” lighting designer for “Thom Pain,” director and set designer for “Blackbird,” set designer for “Husk,” set designer for “Icarus or an Angel,” set designer for “Waiting for Godot,” set designer for “The Last Five Years,” lighting designer for “Assassins,” lighting designer for “Winter Dance,” set and light designer for “The Pillowman.” And I will be designing the set for “Mao: the Musical,” set and lights for “[title of show],” and set and lights for “Urinetown.” I’ve also worked on many of the CFA’s visiting dance performances.

 

A: So you’re a behind-the-scenes kind of guy. Did you ever do any work onstage?

ED: When I was in high school, I was pretty much split between theater and technical theater. Then I got to college, and I saw how many opportunities there were to do technical theater. I kind of just focused on that. I would love to act in a Second Stage production, but that requires devoting an entire semester of rehearsal time towards one show, whereas with teching shows, I can really just work the week of and then be done.

 

A: In your entire career, in and outside of Wesleyan, what set or set piece are you most proud of?

ED: I once constructed a revolving door that had two additional working doors within it.

 

A: Okay, get ready for a lightning round of questions! Craziest time building a set?

ED: Working 120 hours over seven days.

 

A: Tallest ladder you have successfully carried?

ED: 20 feet.

 

A: Most stitches needed due to dismantling a set?

ED: 11.

 

A: Favorite color?

ED: Why?

 

A: I don’t know.

ED: Blue.

 

A: Hours spent crying after the Superbowl?

ED: Three, and then I got better.

 

A: Most successive hours worked on a show?

ED: All-nighter. 24 hours.

 

A: Height?

ED: [laughs] Unbelievable. Five feet 3 inches. That is not a journalistic question.

 

A: What’s something about yourself that you think is cool, but a lot of people don’t know?

ED: Oh…I want to be a teacher someday. I think one of the things I really like about theater is that it is very much an apprenticed art, like you learn it from people who are more skilled than you and you pass that knowledge down. And while I love professional theater, I’m sure that I will burn out someday, so I’m always sort of thinking…later in life, I could work at a small liberal arts college. Then I would be set.

 

A: What are your feelings on bears?

ED: Aw, I love bears! God, this article is going to make me look like the biggest fool ever…They are probably my favorite mammal. Certainly. I mean, bears are just so real…if you need I can send you an image of a bear that I think should be printed in The Argus.