GTA offers fresh take on Robin Hood

Saif Zalmiyar, a senior from Snellville, Georgia, pursuing a B.F.A. in theatre arts and a degree in English with a literature concentration, will play another well-known character: Prince John. Zalmiyar said it is hard to believe this will be his final play on stage with GTA, as he will serve as assistant director for "Alice by Heart" in the spring before graduating. One of the things he is most grateful for is the healthy pressure all GTA students feel to perform.

"There are people who are relying on you to put your best foot forward so the entirety of the show can come to fruition," Zalmiyar said.

The play will include plenty of fight scenes with swords. Jacob Theo Squire, an assistant professor of theatre who will serve as director of the play, is pursuing a full certification through the Society of American Fight Directors.

"Much like dance choreography, fight scenes take an inordinate amount of training, rehearsal time, concentration, and safety," said Zechariah Pierce, GTA artistic director. "It's exciting to give our students the opportunity to really dive into that part of our art form, and at this sheer volume, it is certainly something our audience has missed for some time."

GTA's set designers are also able to embark on a fun challenge: transforming the Ed Cabell Theatre into a replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, an iconic space in the theatre world, as the backdrop for "The Heart of Robin Hood."

"It's an interesting concept for us to have a new take on a well-known legend and also do it in a historic theatre that we sort of transform our own theatre into for the sake of it," Pierce said.

For Zalmiyar, all the plays and training add up to so much more than the sum of the parts. He hopes others will come and experience a transformation like his as part of GTA.

"Do you want to be mentored? Do you want to take away a lot of leadership capabilities and skills that are going to be transferable to the real world? And then on top of that, do you want to be a good actor or a good performer or a good technician or set designer?" Zalmiyar said. "You have mentors and faculty members who have been doing this for ages, longer than you've been alive."

"The Heart of Robin Hood" will be the final play for Larry Cook, professor of theatre, before he retires after a total of 23 years across two stints at UNG. The play is something of a full-circle moment after a Robin Hood play was one of his first after he returned to UNG in 2004.

Cook worked alongside Stuart Beaman to create the curriculum for UNG's first bachelor's degree in theatre and has helped redesign some of the coursework, as well. His main teaching areas include stagecraft, scenic design and drafting.

"We've turned in some great theatre," Cook said. "It's really rewarding when you see students enjoying themselves."