Just three years ago, Andrew Burnap was performing Shakespeare onstage at URI’s Robert E. Will Theatre. This summer, the recent Yale School of Drama grad took his acting skills to a somewhat larger venue—New York City’s Central Park—in the Shakespeare in the Park production of “Troilus and Cressida.”

Andrew spent a month in the title role of Troilus, a young prince who seeks the affection of Cressida in one of Shakespeare’s most rarely produced plays. He has come a long way from his days starring in URI productions like Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” Steven Sondheim’s “Company,” Moliere’s “Tartuffe,” “Singin’ in the Rain,” “The Rocky Horror Show,” among others.

At URI, Andrew won the prestigious Irene Ryan Competition as part of the regional Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. He defeated a field of 250 actors representing 55 universities, earning a spot in the Kennedy Center’s national competition. He was the first URI actor to attend the Yale School of Drama.

Andrew came to acting through his love of music. He sings and dances and plays the trumpet, piano, and guitar. He also speaks with British and Southern accents and juggles.

And he plays dramatic and musical roles with equal ease. “They are completely different art forms,” he said. “However, I think the most alike are Shakespeare and Sondheim. In both, when feeling a complex emotion, you burst into something different. In Shakespeare, it’s verse and poetry. In Sondheim, it’s verse and melody.”