JustArts sat down last Friday with Joey Rosen '14 to discuss the Brandeis Cares event that featured the talents of many students.

JustArts: This is Brandeis Cares' third installment. What is this event, how did you initially get involved and how did you come to get such a huge leadership role?
Joey Rosen: Actually this is its third year on campus. It was on last semester, so technically this is its fourth installment. But, so I got involved when I ran for vice president of Tympanium Euphorium Musical Theater Company. I've been involved in theater with the 24-hour Musical, and lot's of tech, and putting stuff together is kind of my forte I guess. So Brandeis Cares is Tympanium Euphorium's extension of Broadway Cares, where Broadway puts on a show to benefit AIDS research and the way we do it is we have a collection, kind of a cabaret of acts. Mostly songs from different musicals, however this year I tried to expand it and we invited a couple different alternative performers ... there's an original song, a tap-dance number and not necessarily other songs from Broadway, I guess, but songs that fit the theme. The idea is that Tympanium Euphorium extends to the community, and we use musical performance to bring the community together.
JA: Is Brandeis Cares directly affiliated with Broadway Cares?
JR: We send our proceeds to them, and they help us with some funding. This year they donated some money to get some show posters and one of our executive board members is friends with the piano player of Phantom of the Opera and we actually got some Broadway tickets that we are auctioning off tonight.
JA: What performances are you most excited about seeing at the event?
JR: I don't like to pick favorites [laughs] but Top Score is doing two numbers. They're doing Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables, and Les Mis is big because the show, the movie is coming out and Phantom of the Opera currently just broke the record for the longest running show on Broadway and probably the most successful, so they're kind of the most popular, I'd say. And, otherwise, we just have a lot of talent coming from different places. The majority [is] from the theater community, but we've also got some outside surprises this year. So we're looking forward to it.
JA: Where do you think Brandeis will take the fight against AIDS after Brandeis Cares?
JR: So, in between now and the next annual show, we're hoping to spread some more awareness and collaborate more with the [Brandeis Face AIDS] group on campus. Just because Broadway has a close affiliation, we feel like trying to bring that affiliation here because we're kind of, I guess you could say, a minor extension from Broadway and so [we feel like] kind of bringing that microcosm [to] campus.
JA: How did you become so interested in theater?
JR: I started out as a techie. I did 24-Hour Musical my sophomore year. I was okay at it. I had a lot of fun doing run-crew and kind of diving around backstage. Building things has always been a hobby of mine. I'm not much of an actor, but I just love the theater in general and being behind the scenes.
JA: What's your favorite show?
JR: [My] favorite Broadway show is definitely Phantom of the Opera.
JA: Have you seen it on Broadway?
JR: I have seen an in-concert version on Broadway and I've watched performances of it and live recordings and everything of the show. It's amazing. Hopefully I'll actually get to go and see the show in person.
JA: Do you plan on pursuing a career in the industry after graduation?
JR: I haven't thought about that much yet. For me, I look at theater from kind of the behind-the-scenes side, and I really like the business side of it. It's a really volatile and difficult career to go into the business side of theater, and the acting side as well, but I find that I'd be more suited for the business side.
JA: How can Brandeis Cares grow and develop in the future?
JR: Every year we've had a steady growth of people. Last March, we filled Sherman Function Hall, so we set some more places out and we hope to see a bigger turnout. We have a lot of big performing names on campus. We're hoping that next year we're can try to expand to a bigger show, inviting more members of the community than just the regular theater troupes. [We want to get] everyone involved.
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