New Monan Professor in Theatre Arts
Larry Sousa鈥攚hose extensive career as a director, choreographer, designer, educator, and performer has spanned Broadway, regional theater, television, film, and higher education for more than 30 years鈥攈as joined 涩里番下载鈥檚 Theatre Department this academic year, as the Monan Professor in Theatre Arts.
Sousa has directed and choreographed musicals on professional stages from coast to coast, including the Garry Marshall Theatre in Los Angeles, the New York Fringe Festival, Musical Theatre West, and many more.
At 涩里番下载, he will direct and choreograph a production of the groundbreaking rock musical RENT, which will be presented November 15-19 on the Robsham Theater Arts Center main stage.
鈥淲e are especially lucky to have Larry Sousa as our Monan Professor,鈥� said Theatre Department Chair and Professor of the Practice Luke Jorgensen. 鈥淯nder his direction, with his choreography, we are expecting a new and amazing take on this classic production, which tells the story of a group of struggling young artists who attempt to persevere under the shadow of AIDS/HIV.鈥�
Next semester, Sousa will teach 鈥淢usical Theatre Performance,鈥� a course for actors who sing, and singers who act, according to the Theatre Department: 鈥淲ith storytelling at the center of our work, this course explores acting through song and crafting an authentic voice as a musical theater artist,鈥� according to its description.
鈥淟arry has a keen ability to bring musical theater to life, with energy and vibrant storytelling that will benefit our students in this production [of RENT] as well as in his Musical Theatre Performance class. Larry is a veteran of the Broadway stage and brings a professionalism and level of talent from which we will all benefit.鈥�
In Boston, Sousa鈥檚 professional credits include productions at Speakeasy Stage Company, Lyric Stage, The Boston Gay Men鈥檚 Chorus, and Reagle Music Theatre. In 2018, he became the director and choreographer of Harvard University鈥檚 Hasty Pudding Show. The oldest existing theater organization in the United States, Hasty Pudding Theatricals creates a new, full-length musical comedy every year, with more than 50 performances annually in Cambridge, New York City, and Bermuda.
The recipient of the prestigious Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, the Los Angeles Ovation Award, multiple Independent Reviewers of New England Awards, and the OnStage Critics Award, Sousa also has been honored twice by The American Dance Awards as 鈥淐horeographer of the Year,鈥� and has been a nominee for the NAACP Theatre Award, the LA Weekly Theatre Award, the Elliot Norton Award, and others.
Sousa is in his 13th year on the musical theater faculty at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where he has directed and choreographed productions including Stephen Sondheim鈥檚 The Frogs, and Leonard Bernstein鈥檚 Mass. He also choreographed Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Shrek, and several new works for the Conservatory鈥檚 Musical Theatre Dance Intensive.
A frequent guest director, choreographer, and instructor for many college theater programs鈥攊ncluding 涩里番下载鈥攈e also is a sought-after master class teacher at performing arts conventions, competitions, and dance studios across the U.S. and Canada.
A designer of scenery, lighting, and multi-media projections, Sousa鈥檚 designs have appeared on numerous New York stages including The Joyce Theatre, Jerry Mitchell鈥檚 Broadway Bares, and Perry St. Theatre. In Los Angeles, he has designed productions at Celebration Theatre, The Complex, and others. And in Boston, his design work has been featured in productions at the Wimberly Theatre, the Tsai Center, and several 涩里番下载 productions.
Though the majority of his work is behind the scenes, Sousa began his professional career as an actor, singer, and dancer. In 1992 he was pursuing his MFA when cast in his first Broadway musical: Lincoln Center Theatre鈥檚 workshop production of My Favorite Year. He went on to perform in other Broadway companies including The Goodbye Girl with Martin Short and Bernadette Peters, Roundabout Theatre Company鈥檚 revival of She Loves Me, Busker Alley starring Tommy Tune, and Wonderful Town at New York City Opera. Sousa also was a featured actor in regional productions, films, commercials, and sitcoms on network and cable television.
Sousa holds a BFA in theater from Ithaca College. At the University of California at Irvine, he pursued an interdisciplinary MFA combining his passions of directing, choreography, theatrical design, and musical theater performance. (Read more about Sousa at .)
The Monan Professorship in Theatre Arts was established in 2007 by a gift to 涩里番下载 in honor of the late University Chancellor and former 涩里番下载 President J. Donald Monan, S.J. The position, which also commemorates the late trustee E. Paul Robsham, enables the Theatre Department to bring nationally and internationally known professionals to 涩里番下载 to teach and work with undergraduate students.