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By Grace Cardinal, Editor-in-Chief

Manhattan University Players has welcomed back Martin Marchitto as its newest director. Marchitto previously held the position with the group but left in 2018 to pursue other opportunities. 

“He worked here before and that was one of the best things,” Olivia Bailey, producer of Players said. “The last time he worked here was 2018, so much has changed since then…But he has so much experience, and he was more seasoned than anyone else, because he has been working in theater for 30 plus years. He has set design experience. He knows how all of our lighting systems work. He knows where everything is, and he had organization plans for those spaces, so he was more prepared coming in.”

Bailey was one of the students from Players who was a part of the interviewing process for the candidates. Director of performing arts Andy Bauer said the decision was made to include students in the process as another way to show students that their voices matter in the department. 

“One thing I’m not going to do ever is force upon the students a particular individual that they have massive reservations about,” Bauer said. “Our performing arts organization here at the university is largely inspired by the students’ input and their say on what the repertoire is…A lot of colleges don’t have that opportunity for students to have such a strong voice in selecting the direction of the group.”

Marchitto echoes the sentiment that working closely with students is essential to the success of Players as a whole. 

“I really like the collaborative part of working with students,” Marchitto said. “I can have a vision, but for that vision to come to life, we all need to work together. One of the things that will be a little different this time around is in the past, I would hire a professional costume designer and a professional lighting designer and yet, what I liked the most was when a student would step up and say, ‘I really would like to be the costume designer’, … I love that kind of collaboration, where I’m working with students who are just getting started and learning the process.”

While Marchitto has experience in all aspects of theater, his specialty is set design, for which he has won several awards.

“His productions were always beautiful,” Bauer told The Quadrangle. “Well done, always so well organized, well casted, well directed. I would say that if he had to point to anything in theater that he is strongest at, it’s his set designing abilities. That’s what he really does well, and he works throughout the tri-state area as a set designer for theatrical productions.”

When Marchitto departed the university after five years, he left to pursue freelance work and eventually accepted a position at a community theater away from NYC in Connecticut.

“The only reason he left before is because he was offered a full time position at a community theater in Connecticut, so it was a big step forward for him,” Bauer said. “Unfortunately, COVID came along shortly after he took the position, and the theater went out of business like so many other artistic organizations. So he was lost without his job and had no contact at Manhattan because his replacement, J.R. Caldwell, was working out great. But then J.R. moved on, and we had another director for the past couple years. I called Marty and I said, ‘Hey, do you know anyone who might be interested in this job?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, me!’ So that’s how that all transpired.”

Marchitto told The Quadrangle that his position at MU was always one of his favorites, and that he regretted leaving the position. He credits this in part to the faculty that he worked with at the time, including Mark Pottinger, chair of the communication, sound and media arts department, and John Bennett, associate vice president of student life. 

“I’ll tell you, it was one of my favorite jobs,” Marchitto said. “I loved it. I loved working there [at MU], and I’ve taught at other colleges. I taught at Allegheny College for seven years. I taught at Iowa Western for four years. So teaching is something that was in my blood. I left those positions because of my freelance work in theater, but I always enjoy teaching…I loved working with the students.”

In addition to implementing new forms of organization within Players, Marchitto will teach more performing classes as soon as the spring semester. 

“Primarily, it looks like next semester, it’s possible I’ll be teaching an acting class as well as maybe an intro to theater class, considering those classes were not offered recently,” Marchitto said. “I’ve talked to Dr. Pottinger, and he’s excited about offering these classes, and so we just need to work out the schedule and so on…I have a wide range of classes I can teach, and so I’m looking forward to being able to offer those classes to our students.”

The students in Players and Marchitto alike are ready to hit the ground running for fall. 

“My focus right now is to get us back to where we were when I left in terms of organization, and from there, my goal is to continue to produce really great shows and to work with students to help students to realize their full potential, whether that’s in set design or acting or dramaturgy,” Marchitto said.

Bailey mentioned Marchitto’s compatibility for working with students.

“I just think he’s great to work with,” Bailey said. “There are a lot of expectations, but he works you up to those things, and he is super encouraging along the way. So I’m hoping that his presence makes people less nervous to audition, and you’re more comfortable to even come see shows as well.”

As for Marchitto, he feels like he’s finally returned home. 

“I’m just excited to be back,” Marchitto said. “I was walking up the stairs to the quad, and I just thought to myself, ‘I really feel like I’m home’…Manhattan University is a special place, and I think it’s a really unique place. I’m just glad to be able to come back and be a part of it again.”