Dana Smullyan
At first meeting, Dana Smullyan comes across as a quiet, almost shy, young lady. But, put her on stage, either at Achilles Rink or at the Yulman Theater, and the freshman from Salisbury, Connecticut, has a take charge, competitive side that shows the leadership qualities that lie within.
Smullyan, who is the Skating Dutchwomen's starting goaltender, captured the lead role in Mountebanks', the Union College student theater club, “The Wrong Box,” an original musical farce. The play, with adaptation, music, and lyrics by Union student Kit Goldstein, was based on the book by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne.
Set in late Victorian England, “The Wrong Box” is the story of an elderly gentleman, Joseph Finsbury, who is a member of a tontine – a fund which will pay a substantial sum to the last surviving family member – and his scheming nephew Morris, who would do anything to inherit his uncle's winnings. When Joseph is involved in a train wreck and assumed dead, Morris does everything in his power to cover up the death and win the tontine, creating mass confusion and chaos.
Smullyan's character, Julia, is a ward in Morris's and Joseph's house. Julia longs for adventure and excitement and is tired of being treated poorly by Morris and of being stuck in his house (which she feels is a prison for her). She is kind and caring, but also determined and tough.
The play, which had a run of three days, opened on Friday, November 15 at 8 p.m., the same night that Smullyan was making her Achilles Rink debut between the pipes against ECAC rival Sacred Heart. Opening night went on with Dana's understudy playing Julia while the Dutchwomen, behind Smullyan's 21-save effort tied, 1-1 in overtime. Saturday afternoon Smullyan was again in her hockey uniform for a 1 p.m. contest against Sacred Heart, then made her Yulman
Theater debut that evening at 8 p.m. (and again Sunday at 1:00) in costume as Julia.
“I've been acting in plays since I was in second grade,” said Dana, who was an early decision candidate at Union. “As for hockey, I've been playing since I was eight. This is my 11th season as a goaltender.”
Smullyan, who has not yet decided on a major, took acting classes while at the Millbrook School and is pursuing her craft by taking an acting class at Union. As for her progress as a hockey goaltender, Dana has a 2.55 goals against average, a .897 save percentage, and a 3-1-1 record. On November 15 she posted her first collegiate shutout against MIT then followed that up the following afternoon by again blanking the Engineers.
“Dana has quickly established herself as Union's starting goaltender with her aggressive and confident style of play,” says head coach Fred Quistgard. ” She is the first one on the ice and the last one off at practice. Her work ethic and her hunger to learn has made her a joy to coach and has gained the respect of her teammates. Dana brings a passion to all that she cares deeply about, whether it is academics, ice hockey or the theater.”
“Dana brings a passion to all that she cares deeply about, whether it is academics, ice hockey or the theater.”
Fred Quistgard–Union's Head Women's Hockey Coach