Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 11/16/2021
SPRINGFIELD – Actress and educator Libby Oberlin, a Springfield native who stars as Logainne SchwartzandGrubenierre in the “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”, has always had a love of theater embedded into her soul.
Oberlin shared that her first experiences in theater came as a child for a summer play on Nantucket. The experience struck a chord within Oberlin, who claims she still remembers dialogue from the role to this day. “Right after that show, I said ‘sign me up for every single class,’” said Oberlin. From there, Oberlin began delving deeper into the theater at the Drama Studio on 41 Oakland St. in Springfield.
The long-running studio became a home away from home, according to Oberlin. “It’s still there today, still doing amazing shows and classes,” said Oberlin. Once the actress reached high school, she continued to work with the Drama Studio while also collaborating with the Serious Play Theater Ensemble in Northampton.
“Both companies were just so pivotal, it was really a higher standard than your average children’s theater,” said Oberlin. The actress credits both institutions for allowing her to develop a core understanding of the acting process, including learning Shakespeare and sharing the screen with adults at a young age.
Oberlin shares intimate ties with her latest project, a play that she previously directed for her theater school, The Theater School. She said the musical comedy’s deft balance between light-hearted jokes and pull-on-the-heartstrings tenderness drew her to the show amidst theater’s long-awaited return of operation. “After going through the pandemic and the whole shutdown, I was so excited to do a funny, really well-written musical comedy. It just felt light, and everyone in the cast and the whole theater world was grateful to be working again,” said Oberlin.
The actress shared that the show, which ran from Oct. 9 to Nov. 7 at the Children’s Creativity Museum Theater in San Francisco, became an evolving process as the actor’s discovered new wrinkles within their performances. “It’s really fun to do a show over time. It’s exciting to see the evolution of a show, you kind of get in your groove and find new things every night,” said Oberlin.
Along with her career on the stage, Oberlin has also developed a theater school to educate the next generation of inspired youths. With The Theater School, Oberlin said she drew an intense interest in teaching from her own experiences learning about the arts. “I know the value of theater and arts, and what it does for young people that learn about themselves through performing, so I wanted to give back in that way. The teachers and directors I worked with at a young age changed my life,” said Oberlin.
Whether its acting on the stage or educating behind it, Oberlin maintains that the theater plays a crucial role in the world today. “We need theater to entertain and give us some moments of levity,” said Oberlin.