Patrick Vassel ’07
Fun Fact
Patrick graduated from Akron’s St. Vincent- St. Mary High School in 2003—in the same class as NBA great, LeBron James. Their classmates voted Patrick “Most Likely to Succeed” in their senior yearbook awards.
Patrick Vassel is a director, writer, and teacher from Akron, Ohio.
He is currently the Associate and Supervising Director of Hamilton – Broadway, Chicago, and SF/LA (upcoming). Directing credits include Six Characters in Search of An Author (Original Adaptation, University of Notre Dame), Untitled Modern Communication Movement Piece (Workshop – Ten Bones Theatre Company), The Adventures of Boy and Girl (FringeNYC ‘13), We the People: America Rocks! (TheatreWorks USA nat’l tour), the world premiere of Font of Knowledge (Shelby Company), The Little Dog Laughed (The Gallery Players), Nothing Left to Burn (Ars Nova ANTFest and The Public Theater New Work NOW), and War (SoHo Playhouse). Assistant/Associate credits include Hamilton (The Public Theater), Magic/Bird (Broadway), Single Girls Guide (Capital Repertory Theatre), Stars of David (Philadelphia Theater Company), Broke House (Abrons Arts Center) and WORKING (Broadway Playhouse, Chicago. Prospect Theater Company, NYC).
As a writer, Patrick has developed the play Nothing Left to Burn at Ars Nova and The Public Theater (New Work Now!). As a teacher and teaching artist, Patrick has taught students of all ages in all five boroughs through Opening Act, The Broadway Teaching Group, and as a writing teacher at Explore Charter School in Brooklyn.
Christina Telesca ’91
Fun Fact
Christina first became involved in theatre while a student at Notre Dame. Her son Jack is a member of Notre Dame’s class of 2020.
Christina Telesca’s plays include Roan @ the Gates (Luna Stage, American Blues Theater, Central Works Theater, Alley Theatre’s Alley All New Festival); Fidelis (The Public Theater); American Myth (American Blues Theater, Theatre Artists Studio); On the Outs (Ensemble Studio Theater); Split Wide Open (NYC Summer Play Festival); Sorin: A Notre Dame Story (University of Notre Dame, national tour); Just Knots (national and international theatres, winner of Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival Plays 34th Series); Sacred Ground (Stella Adler Studio); DNA (Prospect Theatre Company, Hangar Theatre). Her plays have been produced and/or developed at Geva Theatre Center, Capital Repertory Theatre, New Harmony Project, Lark Play Development Center, Troy Foundry Theatre, Stageworks/Hudson, Playwrights Foundation, and Berkshire Playwrights Lab.
Christina is an inaugural member of The Public Theater Emerging Writers Group, a WP Theatre Playwrights Lab alumna, and an Artistic Affiliate at American Blues Theater. She is published by Samuel French and Smith & Kraus. ChristinaTelesca.com.
Anthony Lawton ’89
Fun Fact
Anthony Lawton is a proud Notre Dame alumnus and has been working as a professional actor since earning an M.F.A. in acting from Temple University in 1992.
He is an accomplished stage actor, having performed at theatres in Michigan, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and New York City. Principally, however, he has lived and worked in Philadelphia.
Among his favorite roles are: George in Of Mice and Men (Walnut St. Theatre); Gideon in Athol Fugards Playland (Wilma Theater); Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet (Arden Theatre), Coleman in The Lonesome West and Feste in Twelfth Night (Lantern Theater); and Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival) to name just a few. He has also worked in film, including Unbreakable, Invincible, Law Abiding Citizen, and Silver Linings Playbook, and on CBS TV’s Hack and Cold Case.
In 1999, the Philadelphia City Paper named him the city’s “Best One-Man Theatre” for his solo productions of Shel Silverstein’s The Devil and Billy Markham, and C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce and The Screwtape Letters, which he produces under the aegis of his own company, the Mirror.
His honors include an Independence Foundation grant to develop a production of his first original play, The Foocy, which garnered 5 Barrymore nominations in 2005, including Best New Play. He has taught Acting, Directing, Shakespeare and Solo Performance at many universities, including Notre Dame, Penn, and Temple.
Ryan Belock ’11
Fun Fact
Ryan is the first Notre Dame alumnus to practice and conduct research in the field of projection design. He majored in all three Divisions of the Arts while at Notre Dame: Music (percussion performance); Film, Television, and Theatre (theatre concentration); and Art, Art History, & Design (graphic design).
Ryan Belock is a projection designer, digital storyteller, and creative director for theatre and live events, based in NYC.
His projection and video design integrates movement, media, and music. Outside of his studio, Ryan works with the Blue Man Group video department and is an assistant editor for Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway, West End, and U.S. tour.
Ryan served as the video designer for Jesus Christ Superstar (2021) in Notre Dame Stadium, collaborating with the College of Arts and Letters; Department of Film, Television and Theatre; and Notre Dame Studios to produce the first live musical in “The House That Rock Built,” utilizing the video boards as an integral part of the storytelling through multimedia.
He has worked on projects at Irish Repertory Theatre, The Kennedy Center, The Public Theater, Juilliard, The Princeton Festival, New York Theater Workshop, Urban Stages, York Theatre, Theatre Now NY, MetroStage, Indiana Repertory Theatre, The Actor’s Studio Drama School, Chicago’s Ear Taxi Music Festival, Papermill Playhouse, Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra, Goodspeed Opera House, The Center for Contemporary Opera, the Cohen New Works Festival, Ensemble Concept 21, and Austin Opera.
Ryan received his MFA in Integrated Media for Live Performance (projection design) from the University of Texas at Austin and is a proud member of IATSE/United Scenic Artists Local 829.
Ryan met his wife, Michelle (ND ’12, ND Law ’15) on the drumline in the Band of the Fighting Irish. They live in New York City with their golden retriever, Sydney. www.ryanbelock.com
Tony did not major in theatre at Notre Dame, but performed in plays for fun. A judge from the Irene Ryan collegiate acting competition who saw him in Twelfth Night in 1987 told him: “You should give up whatever serious thing you’re studying and ruin your life and become an actor.” So he did!