A Tribute To Tagore

Bernardo Manzolillo is a second year Communications Major and Film Minor. He was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Bernardo moved to New York City and attended the Professional Performing Arts School before coming to Purchase. Theater credits include: Twelfth Night (Sir Andrew), Venus (Spotted Boy/The Uncle/Chorus), The Tempest (Alonso), Red Rainbow (El Sol/ Ensemble). He is excited to be a part of this project, and grateful for the great cast and crew.

Alexandra Hunter is a BA Art History Senior graduating in the Fall of 2023. Although this is her first performance, she has worked as an assistant curator at the Neuberger Museum for the show Nicolas De Jesus: A Mexican Artist for Global Justice.

Sarah is a fourth year Media and Anthropology major! Her Purchase involvement has included WPSR ( Tune in Wednesday’s 3-4! ;) and a frequent member of the famous Cheese Club since Freshman year. She’d like to thank her family, friends, pets, and Cookie (grandma) for all the love and support. Special thanks to Ahona for giving her this opportunity and her 2-6 fam!

Cayla Mercado is a Junior Theater and Performance Major from the Lower East Side. She has worked on multiple Purchase productions doing tech and has acted in shows such as She Kills Monsters (Narrator), The Wiz (Cowardly Lion), and Love/Sick (Sarah) in High School. She would like to thank everyone in her life that showers her with love and support in everything she does.

Alec Hoxha, the stage manager of the production, is a Purchase sophomore majoring in Theatre and Performance and Literature. He lives in the Bronx, NY. His Purchase credits include Till Death Does Its Part (stage crew), and other credits include Amélie (set design), The Wolves (props), and Romeo and Juliet (ensemble). He’s super excited to help share this wonderful performance with his background of design!

Cayd Barrera (they/them) is a third year BA theatre and performance student from Cape Cod, MA. Lighting credits include: Frame(D) (Light Crew/Board Op), No Longer Human (Lighting Design), Pie Day (Production Manager/Technical Designer), and Behind Us is Noise (Lighting Design). In addition to lighting, Cayd is a scenic designer, production manager, actor, and director. They have been involved in a number of Purchase shows as well as a few Purchase student films. Coming up, Cayd will be performing as Touchstone in an outdoor production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. They are so excited to be a part of A Tribute to Tagore and they want to thank Ahona for bringing them on board. 

Octavia Robinson-Fiorillo (She/Her) is a first-year at Purchase, majoring in Theatre and Performance, and she’s from Long Island. Projects she has worked on or been in at Purchase: Fefu and Her Friends (Usher). Other projects: Drowsy Chaperone (ensemble), SpongeBob the Musical (Pearl), and Once on This Island (Papa Ge). She would like to thank her family and friends for supporting her.

Priya Dias is a Dancer, Choreographer, Instructor and a famous Anchor, Model and Actress from Dhaka, Bangladesh. In the past, she has anchored in multiple Bengali TV shows, acted in numerous Dramas, and modeled for several magazines, newspapers, and TV studios. She’s one of the enlisted artists for National Bangladesh Television (বাংলাদেশ টেলিভিশন) as a dance artiste (since 1993) and drama artist (since 2001). She’s received so many awards from several Bangladeshi organizations and from multiple states of the U.S. by the mayors, governors, and other government organizations for her outstanding contribution to the Bangladeshi American culture. She is very proud to see her daughter following the footsteps in sharing the beauty of our culture.

Ahona Dias is a fourth year theatre & performance BA actor born in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She currently resides on Long Island, New York with Purchase Rep credits: The Attic (Detective 2), Fefu and Her Friends (Christina), Dance Nation (Connie). Other credits include: Guys & Dolls (General Cartwright & ensemble), Radium Girls (Irene Rudolph & ensemble), The Little Mermaid (Adela & ensemble), and The Laramie Project (Catherine Connelly & ensemble). She is so thrilled to be the first of many to share the wonderful beauty of South Asian culture with our Purchase community. Many thanks to her family, friends, and the entire production team for making this happen.

Lizette Padua is a Junior Theatre and Performance Major from the Bronx. She works in the Performing Arts on & off campus. She’s worked with Productions companies like Epic Theatre Ensemble. Mentoring and appearing in their touring shows such as Nothing About us, Perfect Circle. She is currently set to appear in an upcoming play titled Just talk to me debuting this upcoming May. She would like to thank her loved ones who inspired her to show people they have a voice that needs to be heard.

In our teaching and art, the Conservatory values inclusiveness, equality, and excellence. Upholding all of our training is our aim to train and graduate citizen artists: multifaceted people with a strong sense of purpose in approaching an arts education.

What is a citizen artist? Citizen artists seek to discover how their unique voices can contribute to our world. They understand what it means to be an artist, and what they are here on earth to say and do and make.

The Conservatory trains future citizen artists in three degree programs:

+ BFA Actor Training. The BFA is an intensive professional training program offered to a highly select and diverse group of students. The professional training is anchored in four years of study in acting, voice, speech, and movement, complemented by offerings in dramatic literature and analysis, history of the theatre, stage combat, improvisation, mask work, acting for the camera, and the business of acting. As one of five schools in the Consortium of Professional Theatre Training Programs, Purchase is one of a handful of colleges in the world capable of training artists at this level—and of drawing a faculty from the ranks of professional theatre

+ BFA in Theatre Design/Technology. Emphasizing studio and classroom training, our professional training program in theatre design/technology gives students the guidance and support of established and theatre industry professionals. Many of our alumni are recognized at the top of their field, and have received Tony, Emmy, Obie, and Drama Desk Awards, among other honors. Quite literally, Purchase grads are working in or have worked in every theatre on Broadway, in all tristate venues, and with countless touring productions

+ BA program in Theatre and Performance. From traditional theatre to cutting-edge interdisciplinary work, the theatre and performance major encourages creativity, intellectual curiosity, social engagement, and critical thinking. The core requirements combine scholarship and practice to provide students with a strong foundation in theatre history and dramatic literature, with mandatory stagecraft/production courses. Theatre and Performance majors are encouraged to expand the scope of their education by studying abroad, as well as pursuing coursework in other programs of study within the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Purchase College