Meet Our Theatre and Dance Class of 2022 Senior Spotlight Series: Sean Stanisz in “Spring Awakening”
We’re back with another Senior Spotlight for "Spring Awakening", this time featuring Sean Stanisz (He/Him) playing Hanschen in Spring Awakening. Sean is Senior BA Theatre Major with a Minor in Gender Sex and Womens Studies.
Don’t miss your opportunity to see Sean as Hanschen in "Spring Awakening", a production of our Underground Series this semester.
Performance dates for "Spring Awakening" are Friday, November 12 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, November 13 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
For tickets and more information, visit: https://theatreanddance.wayne.edu/2021-2022/underground
Learn more about Sean Stanisz in our interview with him below.
Introduce yourself - name, pronouns, role in show, grade
Hello lovely humans! My name is Sean Stanisz, pronouns are he/him, I’m a senior BA Theatre major with a minor in Gender Sex and Womens Studies, and I play the role of Hanschen in Spring Awakening
Hello lovely humans! My name is Sean Stanisz, pronouns are he/him, I’m a senior BA Theatre major with a minor in Gender Sex and Womens Studies, and I play the role of Hanschen in Spring Awakening
What has your experience been like working on this show?
Nothing short of amazing! Every show I’m in, I tend to learn more about myself as a human from the characters I play on the stage and with Hanschen specifically, I discovered a lot about the personal boundaries I put on myself that he allows me to wipe the fear away from.
What has been your favorite part of the process?
Being able to curate such a strong support system for each other! We’re just emerging out of a collectively traumatic time and going into a production that addresses several traumatic experiences these teens face, so to be able to come together and explore these vulnerabilities in a space that welcomes those discoveries is very comforting. Especially in a peer-centric environment, we’ve created a family that we can fall back on when we need them and having that kind of humanity has been very refreshing and beautiful to experience.
Being able to curate such a strong support system for each other! We’re just emerging out of a collectively traumatic time and going into a production that addresses several traumatic experiences these teens face, so to be able to come together and explore these vulnerabilities in a space that welcomes those discoveries is very comforting. Especially in a peer-centric environment, we’ve created a family that we can fall back on when we need them and having that kind of humanity has been very refreshing and beautiful to experience.
What advice would you give to students in our college?
You are in control of what you get out of these experiences! Regardless if they are directly educational or more personal, release yourself of those personal limitations we may set on ourselves and you’ll be surprised at how much you can truly experience out of it all
What are your future plans?
After graduation, I hope to continue my theatrical journey here in Detroit for the time being and be able to expand my personal vision across a multitude of artistic disciplines, all while creating strong connections along the way
Favorite show from the past at WSU
That would have to be The Winter’s Tale for sure! It was my first Shakespeare production so I was hesitant about diving into his work, however it also made every rehearsal and performance into a personal learning experience and broke a lot of barriers as to how I viewed Shakespeare
Something interesting about you
On my mother’s side, her great grandmother’s family was part of a well-known Vaudeville act so you could say the talent runs in the family ;)
What is Spring Awakening about?
Spring Awakening explores the internal dilemmas that come with growing out of adolescence and finding your own voice amongst several outside perspectives telling you otherwise, which we experience differently on an individual level. All while exploring it through some of these best songs, I’ve gotten the chance to perform to.