IC News

The Bostwick Fund is built to be flexible and impactful. Released every four years—so that each undergraduate student cycle has a chance to benefit—it allows leaders of the theatre departments to determine how it’s used. Whether funding visiting artists, enhancing performance opportunities, or stretching the department’s production budget, the fund is meant to make possible what otherwise might not be.

“The department budget has to cover all the production costs,” Bostwick explained. “So if the leadership sees an opportunity that they couldn’t otherwise realize, they can now realize it—and make something truly special happen for students every four years.”

That’s exactly what happened this year, as students in the “Written Works” series brought new scripts to life, written by alumni who once performed on the same stages. The collaboration gave student theatre artists the chance to collaborate and learn directly from working professionals—artists just a few years ahead of them in their careers—and offered the playwrights a meaningful opportunity to reconnect with the community that helped launch their paths.

For Stoller and Roberts, it was more than a professional engagement. It was a homecoming.

“The fund made it possible to bring Blunted Daggers by Dani Stoller from ‘page to stage’ in its first fully staged production. The experience of working with a living playwright—an alum of IC's BFA Acting program—was transformative for our students,” said Priscilla Hummel, assistant professor of acting, who directed the production. “The cast and creative team had the rare chance of having direct access to a professional playwright; it was a joy to explore a new contemporary work alongside its creator. It gave them firsthand insight into the playwrighting process and fostered a dialogue about authorship, interpretation, and collaborative storytelling. At the same time, Dani was able to witness her work come to life with fresh voices and perspectives—something every playwright values deeply. The process was vibrant, honest, and creatively fulfilling.”

“I’m incredibly grateful that the fund made it possible to bring Aaron Jamieson Roberts to campus for The Pass,” said Dean Robinson, assistant professor of acting, who directed that production. “It was a rare and meaningful opportunity for our students to work directly with a playwright, both in the studio and virtually. During the talkback, so many of them spoke about how impactful that experience was, how it challenged and inspired them in ways they hadn’t encountered before. For many, it was the first time they’d had that kind of direct collaboration, and it left a lasting impression.”

Though Bostwick has stepped back from directing, he remains an active presence in the Ithaca theatre scene—on campus and off. This spring, he appeared in a staged reading of The Reservoir by Jake Brasch as part of the college’s New Voices Festival, directed by Claire Gleitman, dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences. He’ll return to the stage again next fall in a staged reading of Long Day’s Journey into Night, also directed by Gleitman, and this time playing patriarch James Tyrone—a role with personal resonance, as Bostwick portrayed Tyrone’s son Edmund when he was a college student.

Looking ahead, Bostwick will also help develop a new interdisciplinary course in Spring 2026, tentatively titled “Acting for Clinical Standardized Patient Roles.” Created in collaboration with IC’s School of Health Sciences and Human Performance, the course builds on similar work he has done with Cornell University, blending performance training with clinical education to help students prepare for patient simulation work in healthcare settings.

His career has included hundreds of performances, but Bostwick counts Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady as one of his favorite roles, having played it more than once. He’s also taken a turn as Alfred Doolittle, likely making him one of a handful of actors to have portrayed both Higgins and Doolittle (along with their vastly different dialects).

After decades directing, performing, and teaching, Bostwick has a clear understanding of what makes theatre meaningful: “It’s memorable but also ephemeral. It’s in the moment, but it lives on in the memories of people who either bring it to life or the people who witness it. So even though these experiences the students are having in Dillingham are ephemeral, they’ll stay with them for the rest of their lives. I know that because students throughout the years come back and tell me they remember.”

Asked if he has a favorite production he directed, Bostwick doesn’t choose one over the others.

“They’re all my favorite,” he said. “They all taught me something. And I hope that they taught the people involved something as well.”