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The following feature article appeared in the campus publication Mosaic in December, 1996.
Joshua Epstein '97
Hitting his mark with humor and honors
Even a short conversation with senior theater/dance major Joshua Epstein reveals just how difficult it is to get a straight answer from this comical and talented thespian. For Epstein, a distinguished student and the imaginative mind behind a new on-campus comedy theater series, it seems the curtain never falls.Since coming to Trinity, Epstein has delivered a series of nonstop bravura performances in concerts, plays, and musical theater while simultaneously achieving academic distinctions. Recently nominated to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, this year he was named a President's Fellow for his outstanding accomplishments in the department of theater and dance. And like the dedication he has demonstrated in his academic achievements, Epstein's creative drive and sense of humor show no sign of waning.
Epstein traces his passion for the theater to family members who are "fanatics" for the theater, and a father who played tenor saxophone for a jazz group he led in the Catskill Mountains. "When other fathers dragged their sons to Yankee games, I was being dragged to musicals," Epstein recalled. "After a while, things changed and I was dragging him to the theater."
Inspired by singer and actor Donald O'Connor's number, "Make 'em Laugh" from the musical Singin' in the Rain, Epstein started acting when he was in elementary school in his hometown of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. "I was fat and didn't like sports," Epstein joked in characteristically wry fashion. "I figured I could do more good standing still acting than running around and getting hit by a football."
Epstein's theatrical interests continued through high school and intensified when it came time to decide where to go to college. He first turned his sights on colleges with reputations for strong theater programs, then looked at schools with broader curriculums. The approachability of Trinity's professors and the appeal of a liberal arts education sealed his decision to come to the College, he said. "You need a liberal arts education. You have nothing to draw upon without a firm basis of knowledge. Otherwise, your work is just about acting," he said.
La MaMa's high energy
Part of Epstein's Trinity experience included the opportunity to study the fall semester of his junior year in New York City in a program the College conducts with an experimental theater company, the Trinity/La MaMa Performing Arts Program. While there, Epstein intensively studied techniques such as improvisation, mime, and voice, and attended more than 50 professional productions. He said he will always remember the program's high energy level. "There was just a constant pulse, a nonstop energy within the program. Even when I sat in my room alone, I still felt like I was doing something," he recalled.
Epstein has gone on to enjoy other opportunities while at Trinity, including one at one of the country's most highly respected regional theaters. For the past two semesters, Epstein has helped to read and critique new scripts while an intern with the Hartford Stage Company. Watching professional actors rehearse and then later attending their public performances are invaluable learning experiences, Epstein claims. "Being a part of that process is one of the best kinds of education someone can get."
A Chekhov monologue
Demonstrating in public what he has learned in the classroom has been rewarding for Epstein. In October, at a gala celebration and performance for Trinity alumni and friends in New York City, he performed a short Chekhov piece about the dangers of tobacco smoking. He performed the 15-minute monologue again earlier this month at the "Festival of Chekhov Shorts" at the Austin Arts Center. Associate Professor of Theater Arthur Feinsod, who directed Epstein's performance, praised his student's maturity in handling a difficult role. "It's a very challenging part, and he did a beautiful job with it. It's a comedy, but it also has some very serious underpinnings," Feinsod said.
This semester, students had the chance to witness Epstein's wit on Wednesday nights at an extremely popular comedy series he started called "TV or Not TV," in the College's Underground Coffeehouse. With an hour of rehearsal, students participated in script-in-hand stagings of such well-known situation comedies as Three's Company, Different Strokes, and The Wonder Years. Epstein said the experiment of bringing live theater to a large audience in an easy-to-stage format succeeded.
Although Epstein's Wednesday nights may soon become quieter as his theater project draws to a close, he will remain busy writing two original comedies for his senior thesis. What does the future hold for this talented thespian and student? "Whatever happens, I know that in some way I'll end up in theater sooner or later," he said. "All roads lead to theater."
-- Michael Bradley '98