The Community College of Rhode Island Players’ 2025 Summer Rep will conclude their annual theater season with their adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Richard III, directed by Jonathan Pitts-Wiley. The performance is the second of a two-part series that began in July with a four-day run of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors. Theatre fans know Shakespeare performances are not only challenging, but can have lengthy dialogue, and content not for the faint of heart! Opening night on August 21 showed us just how capable these hard-working students are.
Established in 2017, the Summer Rep program welcomes non-CCRI students and gives participants an opportunity to design and produce two shows in eight weeks while replicating a professional setting. This is no small task!
“The CCRI Summer Rep project serves as a vital learning journey for our students, helping them become accustomed to the intensity of the summer stock model, an important component of professional theatre experience,” said CCRI Theatre Program Coordinator Ted Clement. “As a project that’s open to the wider community, it provides the program with an essential recruiting device.”
“Audiences can expect a lean and dynamic production featuring a wonderfully diverse ensemble of performers,” said Pitts-Wiley. “I’m truly looking forward to what this acting company will bring to one of Shakespeare’s most challenging and compelling works.”
Kai Babas-Corvelo, a recent graduate of the Jacqueline Walsh School for the Arts, has fully enjoyed the program. “At first, I was so intimidated to work with everyone since this is my first production of a play outside of high school. But everyone has been so supporting and kind throughout the experience, and it’s helped me to be my best self both on and offstage!”
Max Hayden, who also graduated in spring, will continue his career this fall at the Gamm Theater as one of three new fellows in its 2025-26 Gamm Fellowship Program. The 10-month paid program is a partnership between the theater and Rhode Island’s higher-education institutions to provide on-the-job opportunities for artists of color.
Stage Manager Rae Chiaverini and Assistant Stage Manager/Lighting Designer Alivia Verasammy serve as stage manager and assistant stage manager, respectively. They filled the opposite roles for CCRI’s performance of Comedy of Errors.
Sebastian Arboleda, in the lead role as Richard, has trained with master teachers in voice, movement, classical text, and on-camera technique, specializing in bringing emotional precision and physical intensity to his roles, this one no exception!
Other cast members include Nicole Labresh, Nayeli Vazquez, Jalen Rodriguez, Anthony Sanchez, Eddie Cardona, Mary Paolino, Sonny Wong, Brandon Soriano, Puck Schmidt, Connor Madix, Mikey McGowan, Jaelyn Batiz and Sophie Bryant.
“Summer rep is a vital part of the program because it provides students with an opportunity to collaborate and learn beyond the classroom by taking on significant responsibilities in all aspects of theatrical production,” said Acting Managing Director Tammy Moore, a CCRI alumna and adjunct faculty member in both the English and Performing Arts departments. “Additionally, it serves as a crucial fundraiser that helps support student participation in the Kennedy Center, American College Theatre Festival (ACTF), which exposes students to workshops and performances that help them grow as performers and technicians, and offers real world experience and lasting connections.”
Your ticket purchase supports CCRI’s Theatre Program. The play will be held at the Bobby Hackett Theater in the rear of CCRI’s Knight Campus in Warwick. Tickets are available online or at the door, with showings on August 22, 23, and 24. For more information and tickets, visit https://cur8.com/18038/project/133247.