THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 28, 1994 TAG: 9410270184
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JO-ANN CLEGG, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
BRAD BRECKENRIDGE had the experience of his life this summer. The young man who grew up in the College Park section of Virginia Beach, graduated from Tallwood High School and decided to commute just a few miles down I-264 to Norfolk State University found himself performing in a place called the Celtic Lodge in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Not lost on the budding actor was the fact he was somewhere in the neighborhood of the Macbeths, Macduffs and that pack of witches who intoned things about bubbles and troubles.
``I auditioned (for the Norfolk State Players) with a reading from `Macbeth,' '' Breckenridge said. ``That's pretty unusual for there, I think.''
Maybe.
But then Breckenridge, who was one of fewer than a dozen NSU students chosen to perform at the Edinburgh Festival, is not your usual college sophomore.
Or your usual performer, for that matter.
Although acting is his real love, he soloed on Otis Redding's ``Sitting on the Dock of the Bay'' during the group's nightly performances in Scotland.
``I'm still learning how to sing,'' he said. ``And how to play the piano, too. I should have listened to my mother when she told me not to quit taking piano lessons,'' he added, echoing the words of generations of would-be Joplins and Cliburns.
There's also his work in radio. Breckenridge's mellow broadcast baritone is the voice listeners hear when they tune in to the popular ``Vintage Jazz Showcase'' on NSU's campus radio station each afternoon.
The multi-talented theater arts major hopes to follow in the steps of NSU graduate Tim Reid who went on to make it to the big time.
``I've been acting since seventh grade,'' he said, rattling off a litany of junior and senior high school plays and competitions.
His first major appearance was with a group of Brandon Junior High School players who were performing at Pembroke Mall.
``It was a surprise for my dad,'' he said. ``My mom and my brother knew I was doing it but my dad didn't. He just came around a corner and there I was up on the stage.''
One of the first things Breckenridge did in college was to brush up on his Shakespeare and try out for the Norfolk State University Players. He not only made the cut, but was chosen by Clarence Murray Jr., head of NSU's theater arts department, to join the troupe going to Scotland this past summer.
For Breckenridge, who has lived in the same neighborhood since he was 7, the experience was a thrilling one.
The three-week-long Edinburgh Festival brings together performers from all over the world to present plays, poetry readings, lectures and concerts. The events take place in small auditoriums, pubs and just about anywhere else there's room for both performers and an audience.
``They warned us we might have as few as six or seven people (in the audience),'' Breckenridge said. ``Instead we packed the house just about every night.''
The NSU Players' offering was ``Good Times,'' a rollicking, foot-stomping musical review of '50s, '60s and '70s music. According to Breckenridge the fun didn't stop when the performance ended.
``We went to clubs and tore the floor up,'' he said with a laugh. ``We did some of the moves from the show and (the locals) loved it.''
The young performer hopes to be able to give other youngsters with an interest in the theater the kind of encouragement and support he's had.
``I want to get to a level (of success) where maybe I can come back and do something for kids,'' he said. ``The youngsters in the community are the most important things here.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by JO-ANN CLEGG
``I'm still learning how to sing. And how to play the piano, too. I
should have listened to my mother when she told me not to quit
taking piano lessons,'' said Brad Breckenridge, a Tallwood High
graduate, Norfolk State student and budding actor.
by CNB