Astronomy’s Star: John Varda

UW astronomers don’t need to look to the heavens to see the nearest star. He is sitting at the front desk in the Astronomy Department main office in Sterling Hall. During the day Program Assistant John Varda takes care of an amazing array of duties for the department. But most of his evenings belong to the theatre.

Since 1999, John has acted in ten plays with Strollers Theatre and two with Mercury Theatre, as well as racking up a number of technical credits. (Strollers and Mercury are among several theater groups that share the Bartell Theater, which opened in 1999 in the former Esquire movie theater on East Mifflin Street.) John is mostly involved with Strollers and for the past year and a half has served as Strollers Theater vice-president–a role that entails the scheduling of each season’s five-play schedule.

John loves to act. And, he notes, "if you live in Madison and want to act, you’ve got to do it for free." The Strollers productions, though not "professional," have very high production values, he says, with most shows having budgets around $10,000–and that’s without any pay for the actors, directors, and crew.

During the last four or five years, John has performed in the following shows:

Strollers Theatre

• "Les Liasones Dangerous" spring 1999 (Danceney)
• "Woman in Mind" spring 2000 (Andy)
• "The Crucible" fall 2000 (John Proctor)
• "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead " winter 2001 (Hamlet)
• "Pride's Crossing" spring 2001 (multiple roles)
• "Lips Together Teeth Apart" spring 2001 (John Haddock)
• "Macbeth" winter 2002 (Banquo)
• "Molly Sweeney" spring 2002 (Frank Sweeney)
• "Of Grapes & Nuts" fall 2002 (Tom Joad)
• "Cabaret" spring 2003 (Max)

Mercury Theatre

• "Betty's Summer Vacation" fall 2001 (Voice/Figure 3)
• "Bash" spring 2003 (John)
  

John fearlessly gives each role his all and eagerly anticipates attacking the next new thing. The reviews are usually very favorable. In January 2001 the Capital Times reviewer said "John Varda gives a wild, elusive performance as Hamlet" [in ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead"]. One reviewer found his Tom Joad performance "touch-and-go," but another said, "Varda’s over-dramatic Peter Fonda impression is a lot of fun." In a review of "Molly Sweeney," he was commended for doing an "excellent job" of capturing the character of Frank Sweeney and for providing the play with a few moments of comedy.

Asked if he prefers doing drama or comedy, he was quick to say he prefers drama, but added that there is often a combination of the two in a role.

Backstage, John’s roles have included Assistant Director, Sound Designer, Assistant Stage Manager, Stage Manager, Light Operator, Sound Operator, and Props Designer.

A shy boy, John first got the theater bug as a 7th and 8th grader when he went to a summer theater camp. In high school he had some small parts in school plays. When he enrolled as an undergraduate English creative writing major at UW-Madison in the mid-1980s, he started to perform with the Strollers group and did so for about three years, before he took what turned out to be a 10-year hiatus from the theater to concentrate on writing. He says he has two manuscripts "on the back burner" and plans at some point to get an agent to market them.

But the theater eventually beckoned him back, and he has been involved non-stop since 1999. He said that when he is not involved in some aspect of theater, he feels "less together."

Currently he is Assistant Director and Sound Designer for an upcoming production of a comedy in six parts called "All In The Timing." He considers this good practice for his directing debut in spring 2004. He will direct a Strollers production of "The Weir," by Irish playwright Conor McPherson. "All the actors will have to speak with Irish accents," he said, sounding delighted at the prospect.

John also is very interested in music and currently is composing music for the soundtrack of a film being put together by a some local filmmakers.

His willingness to take on many roles and eagerness to learn new things is not limited to his free-time creative endeavors. John’s job duties in the Department of Astronomy include serving as the office "front person" and jack-of-all-trades. He does payroll and creates appointments for some job titles; handles leave accounting; updates and maintains web pages; handles the supplies budget, inventory, and ordering; handles grade reports, grade changes, and rosters; is assistant to the department chair as well as department receptionist and the one who can answer questions; reproduces course materials and exams; deals with incoming and outgoing U.S. and campus mail; and makes deliveries and pickups all around campus. Next, he says, he will be learning how to prepare grant proposals.

John Varda and Heather Stickeler from The Crucible. Photo by Mike DeVries.

Credits:

Article and photo of John Varda at his desk by Sandra Ramer (Sociology).