Colin Rosato '22 & Aidan Shea '22

Colin Rosato '22 & Aidan Shea '22

Aidan Shea '22 in his debut role as Gaston in the winter 2020 production of "Beauty and the Beast." Colin Rosato '22 starring as Wadsworth in the fall 2021 production of "Clue. Both are both accomplished 1st-team athletes who have also found a home in the theater. Rosato, a formidable presence on the boys 1st hockey team, came to Brooks already invested in theater; Shea, who is a captain of the boys 1st lacrosse team, found his way to the stage at Brooks. The Bulletin sat down with them both to learn why they love performing, how it compares to team sports, and what they see as their legacies at Brooks.


Aidan, how did you end up working in the theater at Brooks?

"I came to Brooks as a hockey player, but I wasn't sure that's what I wanted to do. I tried wrestling for half a season as a third-former along with hockey, and then as a fourth-former I wanted to do something completely different in the winter season. I tried out for the musical thinking I'd be cast as a tree or something, but my first role was as Gaston in "Beauty and the Beast." I had never been on stage before, and then I ended up singing and dancing a lot, which was, well, it was fun! I was wicked nervous on opening night — I had never sung in front of an audience before, and Gaston has a big number — but I felt ready and it went really well."


Colin, you came to Brooks already experienced in theater. What brought you here?

"I've been doing theater since first grade. I did theater all through middle school, and when I went to Cardigan Mountain School, I picked it up a little bit. I started high school at Groton School and started acting, and I got a bigger role than I expected in the fall of my third-form year. That's when I realized this is maybe something I could do something with. I loved Groton, but I left and transferred to Brooks for the hockey opportunities here. It's interesting: I came to Brooks with the intention of playing college hockey, and now I'm leaving with the intention of pursuing theater in college."


Aidan, do you also plan to pursue theater in college?

"I plan to play lacrosse at Connecticut College next year. Conn is known for its theater program, and I don't want to mess that up for them [laughs], so I think I'm going to leave my time in theater in high school. I enjoyed my time, though. I've stayed involved since "Beauty and the Beast." When we did "Rent" this winter, I worked on the stage crew and had a small speaking role. It's been a great experience. There's definitely a team aspect to working with this group of 20 or 30 people toward the goal of putting together a good performance."

Colin, it's not often that the hockey world and the theater world intersect. Tell me about the ways in which these two sides of your experience interact.

"It's two different ways of releasing stress. In the rink, I get to bang shoulders with defenders and stuff like that; there's a physical aspect to it. Then in the theater, all the stress I carry from being a dorm prefect, practice, serving on student government, even my grades— all that goes away because I get to put on the shoes of someone extraordinary. When I was younger, I dealt with a lot of banter about theater from my hockey teammates. As I've gotten older, my teammates have realized it takes a lot to put on a face of makeup and perform in front of a few hundred people, and now they're always in the front row when I'm on stage. And, I love bridging the gap in the other direction, also: I love seeing my castmates come to cheer at the hockey games and say hi to me afterwards. I think that's really cool."

Aidan: "On the first day of "Beauty and the Beast," I brought a lacrosse stick to rehearsal, and I called rehearsal "play practice" for the entire first year. I didn't really know what to do or what anything was, and I think it took time for my castmates to realize that just because I care about and am good at lacrosse doesn't mean that I can't care about and do this, also. I think that's also helped my castmates' relationships with other kids who focus on sports across the school."

Do you see yourselves helping to make the school a more accepting space for all our students?

Colin: "I think the fact that Aidan and I do a great job in both athletics and theater really matters. Aidan and I are two older and respected kids, leaders on campus, and we're helping younger kids find room to do both also, or to bridge the gap between two other areas of school life that might not be typical. A lot of my hockey teammates enrolled in a Winter Term class where they staged a performance of "Harry Potter." Once the performance was over, one of my teammates told me that his heart was beating faster before the show than it ever had before a hockey game. He told me he had a lot of respect for what I do, and that means a lot to me."