Playwright and casting director back on campus

Barry Shapiro

Tom Dudzik

Tom Dudzick and Barry Shapiro, SUNY Fredonia alumni who have achieved extensive success in the entertainment world after graduating in the 1970s, will be feted at a reception hosted by the Department of Theatre and Dance on Saturday, March 8, 4:30 to 6 p.m., at the Rockefeller Arts Center Gallery Lobby.

 

Both are returning to campus to present a series of workshops on March 8 and 9.

 

Christened as “the Catholic Neil Simon” by theater critics, Mr. Dudzick (Visual Arts, 1973) created a series of semi-autobiographical comedies that have been staged in New York, Los Angeles and hundreds of other cities across the country. His plays set box-office records at Buffalo Studio Arena, Pittsburgh Public Theatre and venues in Chicago, Cincinnati and St. Louis.

 

Buffalo’s extensive dinner theater industry was the setting for Mr. Dudzick’s early theatrical training. It was also there that he garnered acclaim as Western New York’s premiere comic actor.

 

After relocating to New York City, Mr. Dudzick, who happened to be born above a tavern in Buffalo, tapped into his own childhood to create the “Over the Tavern Trilogy.” The first offering, “Over the Tavern,” was hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “one of the biggest grassroots successes in American regional theater.”

 

His first off-Broadway play, “Greetings,” a Christmas family comedy produced by the legendary Arthur Cantor, has become a holiday favorite in theaters across the country. Buffalo declared “Tom Dudzick Day” in 1999 to honor his contributions to his boyhood community and to theatre-goers across the nation. He now resides in Nyack with his wife and their two children.

 

Mr. Shapiro (Psychology, 1975) has made his mark as a casting director. He is co-owner of Herman & Lipson Casting, a leading agency in New York City that has cast more than 7,500 commercials over the last 25 years. Major clients include L’Oreal, Clinique, Mazda, BMW, American Express, MasterCard, Advil and Verizon. Mr. Shapiro has also done casting work for films, television and theater.

 

His resume also includes manager of a rehearsal studio for Broadway shows and producer for a top fashion commercial director. He has worked with the industry’s top models.

 

Mr. Shapiro teaches commercial technique classes and directs comedy showcases in New York and travels extensively around the country to conduct acting workshops and attend modeling/talent conventions.