Pichola shines on stage

During the week, you can find Brian Pichola teaching biology and geoscience here at Aurora High. On the weekends, you can find him in the spotlight.

Pichola can frequently be found on stage across Northeast Ohio, participating in plays and musicals at local theaters. Currently, he is starring as Uncle Fester in The Addams Family at the Aurora Community Theatre.

Pichola started acting in high school, as Snout (The Wall) in Pyramus and Thisbe from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. After stopping for some time, he went back to theater, acting in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1999 at the Streetsboro Community Theater. Since then, he has been in around 40 productions.

Even though he has been in a multitude of productions, his favorite role was Nicely Nicely in Guys and Dolls. He played this role two years ago at the Brecksville Little Theater. His favorite show is RENT, which he saw from a fourth row seat on Broadway.

He says his favorite part about performing is, “getting to be someone else for a while...the challenge of getting into their head, understanding why they do what they do, and conveying that to other people.”

While he has never taken lessons, Pichola isn’t one to shy away from the work that goes into preparing a show.

He says musicals take about 6-8 weeks of rehearsals. Those weeks are filled with five nights of learning music, lines, blocking, and dancing. After rehearsals are complete, the show is typically performed for four weekends. Plays take about 4-6 weeks of rehearsal, followed by three weekends of performing.

You can find Pichola in The Addams Family at the Aurora Community Theatre through November 17. Tickets are $18 for adults and $13 for those 18 and under.