Theater student sparkles under the lights

Senior Maria Dizzia, winner of the Student Award for Distinction in the Arts from the Cornell Council for the Arts, poses in the Procenium Theatre of the Center for Theatre Arts. Charles Harrington/University Photography

By Darryl Geddes

Maria Dizzia, dressed in black, sits in the window of a Collegetown restaurant. Her backdrop is Cornell's Center for Theatre Arts (CTA), a place where she has spent most of her waking hours during her Cornell undergraduate career, which ends Dec. 19 when she graduates with a bachelor's degree in theater arts.

"I originally majored in English and biology but found that I was spending about four hours every day in rehearsals or in some activity related to theater," she said. "So I thought, perhaps I should be studying theater."

Trading the laboratory for the proscenium stage was worthwhile for Dizzia, although some say she would have found success in any venue.

Dizzia's theater accomplishments are numerous. She has played major roles in eight CTA performances, making her one of the most prolific undergraduates in recent years. Her success has not gone unnoticed. Recently, the Cornell Council and the Cornell Council for the Arts honored her with its first-ever Student Award for Distinction in the Arts. She also is the recipient of the New Jersey Governor's Award for Theater Arts and a former (N.J.) Governor's School of the Arts Scholar.

But despite these accolades, Dizzia remains unassuming and unpretentious about her talent. "Sometimes while I'm auditioning for a part, I can think of other people who aren't even actors who probably could do the role better than I."

Dizzia, 22, thought there would be someone more qualified and talented to play the role of the middle-aged wife Bananas in The House of the Blue Leaves, a role in which she was cast by Professor David Feldshuh, CTA's artistic director.

"It was clear after watching her audition that she was a student who had something to offer," said Feldshuh, who directed the play. "After we auditioned her two more times we were convinced that she could do the part."

Feldshuh also cast Dizzia in Measure for Measure as Isabella and in Perestroika: Angels in America as Harper. "I have seen her do roles that carried her into unknown territory," he said. "In Measure for Measure, she was asked to do work that was very personal and wrenching, and she responded to that challenge."

Dizzia, who has been acting on stage for more than a decade, is well aware of the competition in theater. She understands her success on the Cornell stage does not guarantee her stardom elsewhere. She had a chance to get a taste of the New York audition scene during the spring semester, when she traveled to the Big Apple for open casting calls.

"I would arrive at the theater and be one of 200 people signing up to audition. I'd sign in at 9:15 for a 2 p.m. audition. It was grueling, but it taught me a lot," she said. "I have to be much more confident and be nice to everybody, not deferential but courteous, because you'll see the same people at every audition."

In this Collegetown coffee shop, Dizzia pulls small pieces from a chocolate muffin and sips her coffee. She talks with her hands and often finds herself searching for the right word to define exactly how she feels. Her Cornell education has been wonderful, she says. The faculty are approachable, and although she was warned Cornell was a big place, she never found it too big.

Talking about herself does not come easily. She blushes when, in response to a question, she volunteers, albeit with hesitation, that people say she resembles Julia Roberts. A discussion on Roberts' acting ability never transpires, but Dizzia notes that people who hit the big time often have a commercial attraction that transcends their acting ability or lack thereof.

One role Dizzia plays to perfection, according to her mentors, is that of a student.

"She has allowed herself to take advantage of all the opportunities the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance has to offer," Feldshuh said. "She has participated and excelled in a number of areas, and because of her great humility she allows herself to participate freely in many opportunities without a great fear of failing. Because of that, she has grown more confident."

Her academic adviser, Alison Van Dyke, in some ways gets to share Dizzia's applause. "I met Maria before she ever came to Cornell, and when I heard she was on the waiting list for admissions, I called up the admission's office and said this is somebody you should look at very carefully," Van Dyke said. "I've never done that for any other student. Maria is an unusual person; she's intelligent, intense, thoughtful, creative and delightfully funny."

Dizzia will postpone her search for stardom for now. She has applied to graduate school in theater in hopes of learning more about her craft and meeting others who share her desire for more intellectual preparation for the theater.

"Maria told me that she's going to graduate school so she can learn how to act," Van Dyke said.

"I don't think there ever comes a time when you feel you know all there is about what you do, especially with acting or the theater," Dizzia said.