A Warm Welcome: Roseann Ruggiero

A Warm Welcome

FEELING RIGHT AT HOME WITH TNP

A New Jersey native, Roseann Ruggiero has been doing theatre since she was 13 years old. Before she retired and dyed her hair purple, she was an executive assistant in NYC; but she always acted throughout. She absolutely loves theatre and has been involved in it her whole life.

Roseann’s mom and sister moved to Naples first but she wasn’t far behind. First, she had to make sure there was a good theatre in Naples. As fate would have it, someone she knew from New Jersey designed sets for TNP so he gave her a tour of the facilities and she was really impressed. She moved in November of 2019 and was volunteering with the theatre by December. As a matter of fact, before moving from New Jersey, she had already made her appointment to audition for Bye Bye Birdie.

Previously on a producing board for 21 years, Roseann has done just about every job a theatre has to offer. She points out that

“one of the joys of theatre is collaboration.”

She tells parents all the time that “Theatre is the most democratic hobby you can have. Every age, every ilk; everyone is treated as an equal. It’s the best hobby for kids. In theatre you study to prepare for a role.” Also, you meet all kinds of interesting people. She has friends in their 20’s and friends in their 80’s because theatre covers such a broad demographic.

What really struck Roseann about The Naples Players was that they “welcomed me with open arms. You walk in and they see your commitment to the craft and that you’re interested and you’re just a member.” She’s continually impressed with how professional everyone is.

“The organization handles difficult situations with a lot of class and is always gracious to their clients. It helps that the facility is beautiful too!” We weren’t even in costumes and it wasn’t just the dance numbers, they were enthralled with everything. We lit a spark about live theatre.”

Looking ahead, Roseann is excited for Calendar Girls and jokingly says she “wants to know if she can take her curtain call topless!” She has more family moving to the area in the coming months and is excited for them to share in her performances as audience members.

She added that she’s “met great people” among the directors and staff, pointing out that they are “people who treat their people with respect.”

She can already see the effect the company has on the community and pointed out a recent example from their run of Footloose at Baker Park. “There were three young children playing in the park who just stopped what they were doing and sat there and watched. You could tell they had never seen live theatre before.