Director makes impact in the theatre, kitchen

You’ve most likely seen him before, walking across campus with his black zip up sweatshirt, leather messenger bag, and a distinctive rolled green winter hat.

Robin Roberts also teaches a speech class where he can be found emphasizing the importance of a good introduction in a speech or talking about how Aristotle impacted the theater.
 
Roberts has impacted many students’ lives here on campus whether he realizes it or not.

“When he’s teaching, he’s a funny man. You can see he enjoys teaching. Not every teacher is that excited to teach,” senior Alycyn Pratt said.

As a theater major, she has spent a lot of time with Roberts in the classroom and in the theater. When Pratt began the summer before her senior year, she realized she had to commit to a practicum, or project, to complete her degree requirements.

“I didn’t know what to do,” she said. “I changed my mind a lot.”

She couldn’t decide between technical work and directing a show, but Roberts was there to answer any questions and help her through the process of deciding.

“He was really supportive and encouraging throughout the process. It was a really good experience,” Pratt said.

Roberts, who is directing “Phèdre””, the play showing this weekend, is dedicated to helping his students with anything they need. His credentials speak for themselves with a Bachelor of Arts in English, a Master of Arts in Theater and Speech, and a Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting. He was an actor throughout his college years, he’s a published playwright, he’s directed numerous plays and he’s a full-time professor.

Senior Magen Kritsch has used this to her advantage. She told Roberts of her plans to write a 10-minute play of her own, hoping that she could have some feedback from him. After a month of silence, she got a delightful surprise.

“He had set up a staged reading for it. It really touched me,” Kritsch said.

Since she is only minoring in theatre, she was worried he wouldn’t take as much of an interest in what she was doing. His effort to assist her in her endeavors made a significant impact on her time here at Franklin.

“He stepped out of his normal duties.” Kritsch said. “I don’t think my Franklin College experience would have been the same without him.”

When he’s not helping his students, Roberts takes on an alter ego as a chef.

“It’s nothing too complicated, but I like to try new things on old recipes,” said Roberts.
Pratt and Kritsch smiled when talking about his cooking abilities.

“He likes to make food. He brings it to class and rehearsal,” Pratt said. “He makes these things, we call them butterscotch cookies, and he revealed to us that at Hanover, they called them Robin’s nests.”

While being a good cook, he has also faltered once or twice. One incident concerning mashed potatoes imitating guacamole during “How the Other Half Loves” has remained a constant laugh for the theater department.

“There was a dinner scene, and they served guacamole in these little bowls. He comes in during tech week with this bowl of mashed potatoes. He was like, ‘I put green food coloring in these potatoes.’ The man is colorblind. The potatoes were hot pink.” Pratt said.

While stage-managing for “Cinderella,” Kritsch had a very personal experience with Roberts’ baking.

 “He talked about making banana split pie, or as he called it ‘white trash pie’. I made the off-handed comment that it sounded kind of good. The next night, he comes in with a piece and a fork.”