He sings, he acts, he dances and he taps.  There's not much in the way of entertainment this young performer doesn't do.  Rob Onorato, a 17-year-old Brookfield High School Senior said his love of the theater began way back in first grade.  On a class field trip he saw the musical Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Ridgefield Playhouse and he was smitten.  That summer his parents enrolled him in Theater Camp at the Brookfield YMCA and so his passion for the dramatic arts began.

The acting bug led Rob to audition for The Danbury Music Center's production of The Nutcracker the following year and he landed a spot in the ensemble. This was a great opportunity for him to learn the rigorous schedule demands that being involved with any production requires.  In fifth grade he was part of the company in Whisconier Middle School's production of The Music Man, a musical written by Meredith Wilson.  Onorato said what "turned [him] off the theatre" was the part he was cast in for the musical Annie Get Your Gun.  His role was a "silent" Sitting Bull.  He decided to take a break from the theater and didn't do anything else that year.

By the time eighth grade came around he was encouraged by his very supportive parents to try again and accompanied his younger brother Kyle to the Thomaston Opera House's audition for Pinocchio. He landed the part of a policeman in this play which rekindled his relationship with the theater.  He says that he really enjoyed being a part of a "company" that had "faithful members who were constantly involved," from stage crew to props to the actors themselves.  Rob said he has been inspired more from the "company" of actors and players in the productions rather than any one person in particular.

In addition to his many acting gigs he took tap and modern dance under the direction of Amy Delohy and Dawn Pearlman at Dance Dimensions in Brookfield.  This gave him an advantage when auditioning for roles that required tap and/or dancing and enabled him to get a part in the spring musical Anything Goes.  Rob says that performing in Anything Goes was the most fun he has had out of all of the productions he has been in.

Onorato's resume also includes Hello Dolly, Exit the Body (both freshman year), High School Musical and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare; Abridged (both sophomore year).  The students pulled this play together in a few short weeks after the rights were pulled for the play they were originally planning on doing, Harvey. Onorato also played Jem Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird.

When Onorato participated in Godspell at Brookfield High School, he designed his own costume with his mother, Carolyn, and says this is "about where my theatrical interests started to bleed from just being on-stage to backstage." Junior year he acted in Noises Off at BHS under the director of his current drama teacher, Mr. John Lamendola. 

Juggling plays, school, and dance among other things has taught Rob to be focused at the task at hand and his determination and passion for theater shows in all that he does. While acting in his plays at school he heard great things about a place in New Milford called Theatre Works and wanted to get involved in working there. He auditioned and was very excited to get the part in Rabbit Hole that year and his acting ability was stretched in this dramatic role.  His character was a teenager who accidentally kills a four-year-old boy with his car.  Rob says it was "definitely one of the most fulfilling, worthwhile and professional shows" he has done to date.  He also got a taste for lights and sound at Theatre Works when he was enlisted for audio and lighting for the show, The Fourth Wall.

Onorato had the opportunity to go to Martha's Vineyard for three weeks a few summers ago on a musical theater intensive co-sponsored by Fine Line Theatre Arts, a New Milford studio run by Broadway vets Scott Wise and Elizabeth Parkinson.  In the fall, he worked on an original play, Writer's Cramp, back at the Thomaston Opera House, which was receiving its East Coast premiere. He says this was "a unique experience, getting to work with a director and the playwright."

His next project brought him back to Theatre Works where he was the Assistant Director for Alan Ayckbourn's Season's Greetings.  He had the privilege of working with now-president of Theatre Works, Glenn Couture. Couture not only directed the play, but also designed the intricate set, which allowed Onorato to get a feel for what these roles encompass.  Onorato's next gig was as Stage Manager for Theatre Work's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. He says that he has "had a great time working with that director and cast, and learning the ropes of managing a production from rehearsals to performance."

Onorato is pursuing his Bachelor's of Arts in Theater Studies at Emerson College in Boston, a school well known for excellence in the dramatic arts.  He was intrigued by Emerson's Design and Tech major but eventually settled on Theater Studies with an Acting Emphasis. The program allows Onorato the opportunity to study all of the areas of dramatic arts that he is interested in, such as acting, playwriting, stage management, directing, costumes, scenery, lighting, sound and makeup.

He has been focused on Emerson since eighth grade when he heard some older students talking about it backstage.  Onorato said "it just sounded like a sort of theatrical paradise, and the more I learned about it, the more my suspicions were confirmed." Emerson College is the largest producer of theater in New England in terms of seats and spaces and has four stages for performances.

Onorato said he chose to major in theater "because there's truly nothing else I love as much." Although he has recently been interested in "a newfound love of plants and food," he stated that, "theater is what I want to know everything there is to know about, to study and to immerse myself in."

Rob Onorato's next role is playing the lead in Brookfield High School's production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, written by Frank Loesser.  John Lamendola is directing and Josie Bielmeier is the choreographer for this lively musical comedy.  Onorato plays the lead role, J. Pierrepont Finch, a young window cleaner with high ambitions to make it big in business.  Opening night is Friday, April 30; tickets can be purchased by contacting the school. 

"All the world's a stage" for Rob and his ambition to "break a leg" will carry him far beyond Connecticut as he soaks in all there is to know about the dramatic arts in college.