If you’ve ever taken an acting class or worked on a theatrical production at Moorpark College, chances are you’ve met John Loprieno. A former soap actor and University of Minnesota graduate, Loprieno’s office sits at the end of the hall in the Performing Arts Center’s lobby.
On his office door, one can see a plaque listing his office hours and classes. On the interior, his desk is densely cluttered; the theater department chair certainly has his hands full with the upcoming performance of “Pirates of Penzance.”
“As theater department chair, I think my philosophy is making theater accessible,” Loprieno says.
Loprieno says that he took acting classes in high school mainly as “a lark” and enjoyed it despite the fact that he intended to be a chemistry major. He had almost finished attending his two-year school when he was offered a theater scholarship.
“Oh, money for school. I’ll do that!” said Loprieno. “I got my AS in chemistry and AA in theater. I was ready to go both ways.”
From there, his academic itinerary took him to Harper College in Illinois, a small Catholic college named Louis University, and finally to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, where he “froze for two years” and got his masters’ degree.
Since then, Loprieno has primarily made a name for himself as a soap actor, in titles like “As the World Turns” and “One Life to Live”. He has also played roles in mainstream productions like “Star Trek: Voyager” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.”
Today, he prefers to counsel others in the medium of theater. He frequently collaborates with other faculty to put on major productions, such as “Chicago”, “Biloxi Blues”, and most recently, “Henry IV.” His colleagues seem to hold him in high regard.
“He’s intelligent and aware,” says Beth McGill, Dance Faculty Co-Director.
McGill collaborates with Loprieno on a regularly basis, and they have combined their talents to work on several musical productions throughout the years.
“He’s able to see the big picture and move with a sense of confidence and fearlessness that I really admire.” McGill adds.
Even if dance doesn’t feature heavily into a production, she says that she might be asked to coordinate a scene in which the actors are required to dance.
She also points out that he is able to fairly adjudicate disputes that occur between actors or crew when people don’t see eye to eye on productions. McGill attributes this to Loprieno’s time spent in the television industry.
“It’s a pragmatic approach,” said McGill. “When you’re pragmatic about things, you suck it up and make it happen.”
Another faculty member with whom Loprieno collaborates with is PAC Technical Manager Brian Koehler. He specializes in constructing scenery for PAC productions, such as the pirate ship that will be featured in “Pirates of Penzance.” Koehler explained that he has known Loprieno ever since the former started working at Moorpark College, and that he has found him to be a charismatic and professional colleague.
“He has a very contagious personality. John gets exited about stuff, we get excited about stuff, and sometimes we end up having to build pirate ships because we’re so excited!” Koehler says with a laugh.
Loprieno says that the best part about his job is working with students. “It’s the thing I enjoy most, but it’s also the saddest. You get to know students for two or three years, very briefly. You train them, they get very good, and then they go away.”
