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have created a welcoming
environment, and the cast
creates a very comfortable
mood.
“I think a lot of acting has
come very naturally to me
because you can really use
empathy to build another
person,” Gittleman said. “If
you take what you know
about the core ways that
you operate and put that
into a person who has a
completely different set of
life experiences, I find that
an intuitive process and
really fun.”
With a theater degree
from Wayne State
University, Keller, 26, has
had theater experiences
at a variety of stages in
the metropolitan area and
has more lined up after
he finishes the current
production of A Chorus
Line.
“I’m playing one of the
dancers on the line,” said
Keller, who attended Hillel
programs while studying at
Wayne. “I like Greg because
he is really self-assured,
funny, able to be part of all
the great moments and has a
good sense of release for all
the cast. Greg is a guiding
force throughout.
“A Chorus Line is
an amazing piece of
revolutionary art. What I
love about being able to do
it is seeing how it held up
over the years. It still feels
fresh and exciting. Besides
combining all of its great
elements, it puts a voice to
people who we often forget
when we watch musicals.”
Keller, who performed in
The Diary of Anne Frank
for the discontinued Jewish
Ensemble Theatre, works as
a restaurant trainer while
he lines up other stage
experiences and hopes one
day to teach the crafts of the
stage.
Looking for more theater
work is ever present for
Keller. When he finishes
with A Chorus Line, he
will be in the play Jingle
Babs for the Ringwald
Theatre in Ferndale and
later will be directing
Eurydice by Sarah Rule
for Etude Entertainment
in collaboration with
the Wayfaring Theatre
Company in Detroit.
“I probably made the
decision about being an
actor sometime at L’Anse
Creuse North High School,”
Keller said. “I love working
with other people and
discovering what a play is.
Being able to share it with
people is exciting.”
Details
A Chorus Line performances are set 7:30 p.m. Friday-
Saturday, Oct. 27-28, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29,
at the Berman Center for the Performing Arts in the
Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. $35.
nicelytheatregroup.org. (248) 406-6677.
PHOTOS BY BRIAN CRAIG
FACING PAGE: Nikita Krylov, Amina Dunn,
Jack Randel, Cat Dacpano, Kevin Keller, Erin
Johnson, Terri Manning, Toby Gittleman, Sara
Grice, Maryanna Lauter, Kenyada Davis, Sam
VanKampen, Mollie Cardella, Calleigh Wilson,
David Roden, Cory Shorter and Olivia Quesada.
+248.352.8000 ext. 250
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