UNW Article- “UNW Theatre Through the Years”

“UNW Theatre Through the Years”

by Wes Muilenburg

published December 2019

You’ve probably never been recognized in public by a stranger. It is a rare occasion that always raises questions and boosts egos. To have someone approach you out of the blue and heap praise upon you, without prompting, is not an everyday happening. But Faith Winship might have to start getting used to it. Early last month, a girl came up to her in the Chanhassen Panera and identified her from the University of Northwestern – St. Paul’s recent production of “Much Ado About Nothing.” Throughout her years, Winship has found herself in such instantly recognizable roles time and time again.

Initially, she wasn’t drawn to Northwestern by its theater program. No one would expect a small Christian school in central Minnesota to have a remarkably robust arts program. Winship toured the school somewhat casually and was drawn in by the campus’ atmosphere. This led her to a meeting with Jennifer Hunter, the program’s director. Hunter gifted her with free tickets, as the department is wont to do with prospective students, to that fall’s productions of “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Phantom of the Opera.” After being blown away by the shows and meeting a handful of the students with prominent roles in each, two things stood out to Winship: “excellence and faith.”

She was so captivated that she came and saw every production for the rest of the 2015-16 year. Hunter even made a journey out to Chaska to see her perform. Expectations rode higher than the flying actors in a high school production of “Mary Poppins” (in which Winship played the titular role). She immediately came into the fold, being the only freshman in the original cast of “Into the Woods,” an intense Sondheim take on classic fairy tales. She was both thrilled and terrified to be performing alongside the people she had looked up to as a prospective student. Even in a role with one line (“Ahh, excuse me”), she took advantage of the opportunity. “It was like a dream come true, and it’s only gone up,” said Winship.

Shows rushed by in a blur, with Winship never taking a break. Eight shows (of varying size and spectacle) over a year-and-a-half. The first big change of pace came when Winship was invited to participate in the Before Broadway Talent Showcase. Along with Sam Raun, a fellow Northwesterner, she was able to meet and work with top-tier Broadway professionals and perform alongside some of the best college-age performers in the country.

Upon returning, she immediately jumped back into Northwestern’s theater program and was cast as Anne in an adaptation of the classic “Anne of Green Gables” story. “To this day, it’s my favorite thing I’ve done here,” she said, “because I learned that I could act.” Winship had never viewed herself as an actor — always a singer instead. However, with “Anne,” it reached a point where she didn’t feel like she was acting anymore. She would just “step into her body” and everything would flow naturally.

One year later, another dream would be coming true. Since her senior year of high school, Winship had wanted to play Katherine in “Newsies.” Lo and behold, she was cast in the role for Northwestern’s production of the show. The most consistent thing for her throughout the show’s run was how blessed she felt. She was overwhelmed with gratitude before and during each performance, even as she had to shut her emotions off and portray the character.

Subsequent roles may not have reached the spectacular heights of “Newsies,” but they have challenged Winship nonetheless. Comedic parts, whether explicit (“The Real Inspector Hound”) or not (“The Seagull”), shifted her perception of herself. “I never considered myself a comedic actress,” she said, “though I’ve actually played more comedic roles than dramatic.” Her final role at Northwestern, playing Hero in a razzed-up adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” toed the line between drama and comedy, seeing as she needed to cry onstage almost as much as she needed to deliver the Bard’s witty dialogue.

Despite all the success at Northwestern, Winship’s top takeaway is the close friendships she has built, on stage and off. “I’ve learned so much about how to support your friends when they’re succeeding and you’re not or how to be there for your friends when you’re succeeding and they’re not,” she said. Remaining grounded in the connections you build can sometimes be rare in the ego-driven world of the performing arts, but Winship proves to be an exception, in this way as well as many others.

You can currently see her perform in Christmas My Way at St. Croix Off Broadway Dinner Theatre. The show runs Fridays and Saturdays through Jan. 4, 2020.