Actors are in the business of imitating life. The broader their experiences, the more they have to draw on when they go before a camera or a live audience. Two actors who landed roles in the recent motion picture "Barbershop 2: Back In Business" cite freedom and the ability to grow as primary benefits of studying theatre at UIC.

Brian Weddington

Brian Weddington, '94 AA, a visiting instructor in the College of Architecture and the Arts, as well as Theatre Arts instructor for the City of Chicago's Gallery 37 art program, played a customer named Benny in "Barbershop 2: Back In Business." Janina Gavankar, another UIC student, was in both the original movie "Barbershop" and the sequel. She, in turn, helped current student Quinette Doggett land a part in "Barbershop 2" as well.

"Being in Chicago gave me the chance to do some auditioning and obtain professional experience while I was still in school," says Weddington. "I was there for the love and the passion of it. I learned from [UIC Professor] Bill Raffeld how to give myself the permission to create, to give myself over to the art. He always gave you the ability to shape the productions you were working on and the room for self-discovery. He didn't give you the right or wrong way. He gave you that room to craft, and crafting is really a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week process. You learned professionalism, and how to cope with tough choices."

Weddington took advantage of UIC's exchange program with the Theatre of Moscow Southwest. He and other students performed Thieves Carnival in Moscow in 1993, staying in a building formerly operated by the Russian secret police, the KGB. He adds that studying at UIC gave him a solid foundation to build on when he then decided to enter a theatre conservatory program at Rutgers University. "That was more of a hard-core boot camp, and I was ready for it. Rutgers gave me the technique, but it was Raffeld who gave me the heart and the vessel to fill in what I later learned."

"The reason I chose UIC was the absolute freedom I found on campus to choose my career," says Gavankar. "I was able to study with great teachers in theatre and also in voice and movement. Tanera Marshall was an outstanding voice instructor (since succeeded by Cynthia Blaise, associate professor of acting/voice), and I really enjoyed a movement class taught by Sharon Gopfert. These are teachers I wouldn't have had access to elsewhere. UIC's professors are really top-quality individuals who are professionals in their own right and keep a foot in the industry. I also appreciated the encouragement I received to audition for any type of performance. That allowed me to have a balanced career. I'm both a recording artist and an actress today. UIC prepared me for any form of career I want to follow."

Another advantage of study-ing theatre in the Chicago area is the opportunity to network with other actors, as well as with agents and production companies. Gavankar, who took a class at UIC with Quinette Doggett, was able to secure her an interview with Gavankar's talent agency. "Quinette just had something so amazing about her. I saw that and embraced it," Gavankar says.