Loyola Alums are constantly taking on the world and taking on great ambitions. Our very own Bari Bellard and Brianna Thompson are on the road touring nationally with the amazing musicals Cats and Tootsie. Bari Bellard, a 2017 TAD graduate, is currently touring with Cats as the production stage manager. This isn’t the first time Bellard has rocked an amazing opportunity; Bellard was also the stage manager of the touring production of The Color Purple and had a stint as stage manager on a cruise line after working with Southern Rep Theatre in New Orleans. Bellard has also performed at Walt Disney World and aboard the Polar Express. At Loyola, he most recently directed Theatre for One for our 2020-2021 season.
Brianna Thompson, a spring 2020 graduate, is also making her mark in the theatre world. She is touring as the assistant stage & company manager of the musical Tootsie. This isn’t Thompson’s first time at the rodeo. She has worked as the stage manager and assistant stage manager for many shows at Loyola, including: Mother Courage and her Children, August Osage County, Romeo & Juliet, The Three Musketeers, Richard III, and Caroline or Change. She also studied abroad for a year at Sogang University in Seoul. To hear more about her experience there, check out this podcast where she is interviewed about her experience abroad. She talks about the food, the living facilities, and cultural differences. She speaks about how having her classes in English was a blessing but being immersed in Korean culture outside of class was also very appreciated. “Once you get a few key phrases down you can generally get around”.
To hear more about their experience working on their productions with the struggle of Covid, check out this article by The Maroon. In it, Bellard and Thompson talk about how they feel returning to production during COVID. We can't wait to see the hard work and talent that Thompson and Bellard put into Tootsie and Cats, and where they will go next!
