Senior year can be a time of stress for college students, but fourth-year broadcast journalism student John Romanski is taking it to a different level. In addition to his coursework, Romanski is currently spending much of his time on his role in “Platonov,” which the USC theater department is performing through Nov. 17.
Romanski plays two of the play's 10 characters: Gerasim Kuzmich Petrin and Osip. However, this is not Romanski’s first time on stage. In October, Romanski had his big break by landing the lead role of Shakespeare in USC's production of “Shakespeare in Love." Romanski usually likes to stick with comedic characters, but with this role he had the opportunity to connect with his inner romantic persona.
“It was amazing, I’m not going to lie, it was such a great experience,” said Romanski. “Not necessarily because it was the leading role, but because of the group of people that were in that room were so collaborative.”
When making the decision to come to USC, Romanski hoped to double major in broadcast journalism and theater. But after some advisement, he realized that was no longer the path he was going to take. After considering which degree to pursue, he finally decided to choose broadcast journalism. Even though theater is his minor, he said he still puts equal, if not more, time into his acting career.
“[USC] also had a theater program that you can get involved in, even if you weren’t a major,” said Romanski. “By the end of high school, I knew that it was something, that not only that I enjoyed doing, but that I definitely wanted to make a career out of it if possible.”
To Romanski, journalism and theatre are more of a lifestyle than areas of study. In order to successfully juggle both, he’s typically on campus from sunrise to dusk, keeping his whole life packed into his backpack. Romanski’s schedule doesn’t allow him to have a lot of free time, so he finds himself doing school work whenever he can, often sacrificing sleep on some nights.
As a student actor, Romanski acknowledged he often faces difficulties with how much time he has to commit to rehearsals on top of the time commitment of classes and homework. His participation in USC theater requires almost 24 hours a week worth of rehersals, which takes up most of his nights.
“For the most part, it’s the lack of time that’s the biggest difficulty,” said Romanski in an email. “I don’t have a chance to join other student organizations or get involved in other ways on campus. But I do my best.”
Because he's often busy with school and theater, Romanski doesn't have much time to socialize and hang out with friends. He said the theater department has become a close-knit family.
Romanski described the plays he's participated in this year, “Shakespeare In Love” and “Platonov,” as two different styles of theater. “Shakespeare In Love," with a screenplay adapted for the stage by Lee Hall, had an over-the-top aspect. With “Platonov," Russian playwright Anton Chekov wrote in a more realistic, reserved style of writing. Romanski said he had to face the challenge of keeping the characters more reserved.
Playing two roles in "Platonov," Petrin and Osip, adds another difficulty factor for Romanski. He said he has to make the characters feel different enough so he doesn't feel like the same person on stage.
Even though Romanski went from a lead role to playing two supporting roles, he said he still feels like a special part of "Platonov."
“I believe that every role in a show is important”, said Romanski. “Regardless of how many lines you have or how many times you're on stage, you play a part in the system of working together as an ensemble."