BRANCHBURG, NJ: Walking through the lobby of the theater at Raritan Valley Community College, overwhelming rock music and anguished lyrics free the air. Above the music the director stops and starts the music over and over again.
Rehersals are underway for the rock opera “Rent” put on by students and members of the community as director Gloria Trombley is working hard to make sure everything is perfect for opening night. Trombley, who teaches musical theater, is taking on her first musical at the school.
Trombley has been teaching for 30 years and has directed more than 80 plays and musicals throughout California and New Jersey that have won her numerous awards.
Trombley’s whole life has been about theater. “My mother wrote and directed plays all my life!” Trombley said. Trombley acted and danced in plays all through her high school and college career but knew she wanted to direct from the start.
“Theater came in my late graduate work for dance so I did a second masters (CAS) in theatre with an emphasis in directing,” Trombley said. She studied at Weslyan University in Conneticutt.
In 2008, Trombley’s direction of The Will Rogers Follies with Equity Actors in California won her the San Francisco Bay Area Critics Award. “[winning the award] was a pretty big deal. We put on quite a performance,” Trombley said.
Once a student, and now a long time friend of Trombley’s, Chris Boccard, started out his 15 year acting run with Trombley in California. Though he was skeptical about a college taking on a big story, he is impressed with the talent and direction. “The talent is pretty darn good,” Boccard said.
Trombley is equipped with a masters degree in dance and theatre. It is not easy for Trombley to direct both the acting and the choreography in a musical with over 40 songs. Trombley has her student director, Hillary Stein, to help keep an eye on everything happening on stage.
“I am just watching and absorbing all Gloria does,” Stein says. Stein hopes to use this experience as training for when she directs musicals in the future.
With opening night just around the corner, Trombley works with the set designer and the musical director to put the finishing on the loft set, songs and characters.
After this bold rock opera, Trombley plans to continue taking on challenging musicals.
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