If you ever need to find Marc Bruni '99, my advice is to check the Hop.
As part of the Aires, a member of the Glee Club and a Harlequin, Bruni has become somewhat of a permanent fixture at the Hopkins Center during his years at Dartmouth, often spending more than 12 hours there a day.
His hours at the Hop have been particularly long this term, since he is currently directing the Shakespeare Alley Production of "The World Goes 'Round" -- a musical review based on the songs of John Kander and Fred Ebb which will be performed in the Bentley Theater today, Friday and Saturday.
According to Bruni, this performance is unique, as it has no lines and is a collection of their songs in a celebration of their music.
"[The performance] is tied together by the theme that sometimes the world gets you down, and sometimes things don't go right for you, but the world goes 'round. Everything just keeps on spinning," Bruni said.
As a first-time director, Bruni has become acutely aware of the stress that goes along with the job. "When you're acting, you just have to concentrate on your performance. You don't have to worry about the technical end, sets, lights and costumes, or whether your fellow actor can come to rehearsal," he said.
Stacey Morris '99, who has acted with Bruni before and is currently part of "The World Goes 'Round" cast, said that Bruni is doing a great job in his new role. "After so many experiences acting side-by-side, it is strange to have him directing, but it has worked out well, particularly since Bruni is so professional and so good about taking input from those in the cast," she said.
Although this is Bruni's directorial debut, he certainly has had some experience in theater work. A member of the Harlequins, the student-run musical theater organization on campus, he has had roles in "Pippin," "The Fantasticks" and "Sweeney Todd" to name a few.
His favorite acting experience occurred this past summer in the term's main-stage play, "Arcadia," written by Tom Stoppard.
What made the experience so amazing for Bruni was that the British actor Sam West, who had played Bruni's role in the original production, was on campus to assist and act in the play. This allowed Bruni to learn from the actor, who brought his script complete with the original director's notes.
Bruni's interest in drama started long before he came to Dartmouth, though. "When I was six years old, for some reason I was fascinated with the idea of having a Santa Claus suit, and my dad said that if I memorized the poem 'The Night Before Christmas,' he would get a costume for me," Bruni said.
Not one to turn down an offer like that, Bruni rehearsed with his three-year-old sister, performed the poem for his family and experienced acting for the first time.
In high school, Bruni did some theater singing and was part of his school's strong theater program, which performed 10 shows a year.
Despite his interest in developing the musical and dramatic skills he acquired in high school, Bruni had not heard of the Aires until he came on campus. It was at Mt. Moosilauke Lodge on his Dartmouth Outing Club freshman trip that he was introduced to the group by Jason Fleming '98, current Director of the Aires, and Bruni became part of the group the night before classes started that fall.
As one of the Aires' baritone singers, Bruni has solos in "Copacabana" and "Hungry Like the Wolf," and he is known to perform surprisingly accurate imitations of the monotonic-voiced Keanu Reeves.
Bruni is also the Aires' business manager -- a position which seems to sum up his role within the group dynamic. "I'm usually the one that tries to reel everybody in and keep [them] not too far out," Bruni said.
As the business manager, Bruni coordinates bookings on campus and decides on road trips, one of which occurred this past spring break when the group drove 26 hours to Florida to perform unsolicited at Disney World's line for Splash Mountain, as well as for various alumni clubs.
Commenting on the popular stereotype of the drooling female Aires groupie, Bruni said, "We entertain whatever audience we have. We put on similar shows for alumni groups when we go on tour and there may be drooling women there, but they're all 75 to 80."
It is these same women who repeatedly tell Bruni he resembles actor Tom Cruise.
In addition to the Harlequins and the Aires, Bruni also enjoys being part of the Glee Club since it allows him to sing a style of music greatly different than the pop tunes and radio music of the Aires. "It's exciting to sing with the orchestra ...[and] there's just something really powerful about singing music that has been around for so long," he said.
As a drama and an economics-modified-with-government double major, Bruni hopes to score a job that combines the three fields.
"Entertainment law is a possibility," Bruni said. "So is arts administration, but, of course, I'd love to do some sort of performing."
His obvious practical side comes out when he discusses his majors. "Drama is for love ... and economics modified with government is so that I can at some point actually get a job and won't have to be a waiter for the rest of my life," he explained.
