IU Theatre grad shares his career path from Kirkwood, St. Louis to Kirkwood Ave. to Broadway tour
Rick Desloge grew up in Kirkwood, a suburb of St. Louis. Somewhere between junior and senior year of high school, his childhood dream of playing professional hockey took a back seat to performing; his voice teacher suggested he look into Indiana University's Department of Theatre and Drama in the College of Arts and Sciences. Desloge made his way to Bloomington and graduated from IU in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in the Individualized Major Program with a concentration in Musical Theatre (the Department of Theatre and Drama now offers a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre). Since last fall, Desloge has been touring the country with the first national Broadway tour of Wicked .
Rick Desloge
Here, he talks about IU memories, the Singing Hoosiers and life as an actor in New York City.
Live at IU: How did you choose IU?
Rick Desloge: I visited IU in the spring of 2003. I was completely blown away by an atmospheric, black box production of Sweeny Todd. I talked with Colin Donnell (BA '05), with whom I went to high school -- and incidentally, who has gone on to a pretty successful career himself -- and he had nothing but great things to say about IU. I was drawn to the beauty and energy of the campus, the new facilities and the quality of training; it was on that visit I knew IU was where I belonged.
LIU: What were some of the highlights of your IU experience?
R.D.: I was in the Singing Hoosiers for all of my years at IU. The energy, structure and support of working with those highly talented musicians every single day is pretty synonymous with my collegiate experience. I loved working on productions of Urinetown and Bat Boy, as well as the operas La Boheme and Romeo et Juliette. I was also fortunate to get involved with a Bloomington Parks Department ice hockey league that was a great release from the stresses of college.
LIU: Were there any faculty mentors who particularly inspired you or classes that helped you fine-tune your craft?
R.D.: My Individualized Major Program sponsor was George Pinney. He focused a lot on centering me as a performer, and that is probably the most important thing I could have learned not only for a theatrical career, but also for life. Bruce Burgun's acting class really pushed me to be unique while honestly responding to a scene. (Singing Hoosier director) Michael Schwartzkopf and the late Paul Kiesgen were also really influential in my development. Aside from performing, my favorite class was probably "Cloak and Dagger," a College of Arts and Sciences course that studied themes from books by Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle and Ian Fleming, to name a few.
LIU: Did your IU program provide any special programs through which you worked with professional performers?
R.D.: The summer after I graduated, I was fortunate enough to work on The Sixth Borough, a new musical by IU alum Eric Price and his collaborator Will Reynolds. The Singing Hoosiers seemed to be constantly collaborating with talented professionals. I also did summer productions at The Barn Theatre, Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre, and Stages St. Louis, where I worked alongside fulltime actors, many of whom are now my friends. Professionals aside, I think the most valuable thing about IU was collaborating with my peers, many of whom have gone on to do amazing things both in and out of the entertainment business.
LIU: Describe your career path after graduation.
R.D.: I graduated in 2007 and moved to New York City that fall! I was pretty lucky in that shortly after I moved I got cast in a wonderful new musical: Treasure Island, based on the Robert Louis Stevenson book. That project helped me develop relationships that led to future jobs. I have been fortunate enough to work somewhat steadily as an actor, starting off slowly with non-union regional gigs and readings, and progressing to higher profile jobs. When I'm not working as an actor, I work at an ice hockey pro shop and do temp work for a doctor to pay the bills.
LIU: What do you miss most about Bloomington?
R.D.: I always get sentimental about Bloomington around springtime. There's something about walking through the arboretum and seeing beautiful girls tanning, smelling freshly planted flowers on Jordan, or getting pumped that closing night of the musical coincides with Little 5 weekend -- that just gets me. As cliché as it seems, I love the back-to-school energy during the fall, where Saturday morning you can wake up to the smell of leaves wrapped inside the waft of a grill from a tailgate, or walking to Assembly Hall in a snow storm to watch IU lay a smack-down on Purdue.
Rick Desloge in "Close Every Door"
LIU: What are you working on currently?
R.D.: Since last fall, I have been touring the country with the first national Broadway tour of Wicked. I'm in the ensemble where I play several bit parts. I also understudy Boq, a munchkin.
LIU: What's next for you?
R.D.: I'm planning on staying with Wicked for the near future unless a really compelling project comes along. There are some awesome cities lined up for the next year, including lengthy stays in Washington, D.C. and L.A.
LIU: Any advice for current IU students who wish to pursue a career in musical theater?
R.D.: Soak in as much as you can while you are at IU. There are so many resources right at your fingertips -- use them! Go to the gym, copy scores from the music library, get a studio to just play around with scenes, monologues and songs. Make friends with your peers. They are going to be your support network when you graduate. Don't forget to have fun and remember that an unwavering belief in yourself is the most important thing for success in any avenue of life. Finally, remember that Indiana breeds performers capable of working at the highest level -- you are really good at what you do. When you graduate, jump -- and trust that there will be a net to catch you and spit you out along the right path.
This story was originally published May 19, 2011.
--Jennifer Piurek
