By Bryce Spadafora, Contributing Writer
Tucked away on the second floor of the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts is the office of Ed Simone, Ph.D. As a professor of theater, Simone’s office holds several items from his international travels, as well as a few from closer to home.
1. Directly behind Simone’s desk is a framed quote by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. The quote, typed in French, translates to, “The highest form of intelligence is generosity.”
Simone found the print while visiting Les Baux-De Provence in France. Before finding it, Simone said he did not know Chekhov had said the quote, but the words resonated with him.
“To me, it means that intelligence, in and of itself, isn’t good unless you apply it with generosity to help people and do good things,” Simone said.
According to Simone, the print is one of many done by Louis Jou, a printer and publisher, who lived in the village during the 1940s. During his life, Jou made his work with a printing press which, along with his prints, is on display in the village.
2. Above the print hangs a large fiberglass face with a wide-open mouth. His wife, Leigh Simone, assistant professor of modern languages, surprised Simone with the piece during the 90s. Previously, it sat on display in a Connecticut storefront.
“It used to be in our house,” Simone said. “But, then, I thought it would be fun to put in the office. We actually used it in a poster when we did ‘Metamorphoses’ [at Bonaventure.]”
3. Hanging on the wall to the left of Simone’s desk is an enlargement of a photo taken in downtown Saratoga Springs, New York, where Simone grew up. Simone said he does not know the date the photo was taken, but believes the picture predates the 1920s.
“It holds a lot of good memories for me, growing up there,” Simone said. “Of course, it was a much smaller town then. It’s a bit busier now than it was.”
4. Across from the desk stands a row of bookshelves. The shelves hold various books on theatre, gifts from former students and other trinkets. One of these is a tiny replica of a boar. Simone said the boar is from his time as a student at St. Bonaventure.
“Somebody gave it to me because I had done ‘Richard III’ here at Bonaventure,” Simone said. “The boar was on Richard III’s crest.”
As a student, Simone said he never thought he would one day teach theater at the school.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Simone said. “I just knew theater would somehow be involved. Teaching and the profession of theater have always had equal pulls on me.”
5. Also hanging in Simone’s office is a poster from the 1979 production of ‘Sweeney Todd’ on Broadway. A Bonaventure alumna gave it to the Simones as a wedding gift. The handwriting has faded, but composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim signed the poster, offering his best wishes to the newlywed couple.
6. Next to the poster hangs a letter from Eugene Ormandy, former director of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The letter thanks Simone for creating Eugene Ormandy Day. During his college summers , he was a public relations intern at the Saratoga Springs Performing Arts Center.
“I created this idea of Eugene Ormandy Day to celebrate his fortieth anniversary with the orchestra,” Simone said. “We had an orchestra downtown. He got keys to the city; we had network coverage and string quartets [played] all over the city.”
7. In the corner of Simone’s office, by the door, hangs a long blue Kuwaiti embroidery. Simone traveled to Kuwait for a week early last year. Zennia Paganini, cultural attaché for the United States Embassy in Kuwait, gave the embroidery to Simone as a gift.
Paganini invited Simone to Kuwait as an envoy for the U.S. State Department’s Arts Envoy Program. Simone spent his time teaching voice classes for actors and giving readings of American poetry.
“The people there were so receptive and so warm and very wonderful about the classes and the expression,” Simone said.
Before its location in the Quick Center, Simone’s office was in Butler Gymnasium.
“The one I was in previously had a better view,” Simone said. “But this one is nice because I’m with colleagues. It’s nice to have a group of people, to be with your colleagues and friends and to get to work with them.”
