From class to curtain: A night of student showcase
Treasure Hardwick, Staff Writer
Looking for a night of creativity, fun and student talent? The theatre department’s end-of-year showcase on April 30 offers just that. It will feature songs, scenes and movement pieces all designed and performed by students whose collaboration of hard work will come together to produce a night of fun for students, staff and faculty.
The theatre department will host it in the Billingsley Theater. This showcase isn’t an annual tradition, but rather something that is unique to this year.
This semester, each student in NGU’s theatre directing class have created a scene that they will direct, and another student will perform it. Along with these scenes from the directing class, other theatre students from the lighting design class are working to design the lighting for each scene to produce an aesthetic set.
Amy Dunlap, associate dean of NGU’s school of theatre, explained that although she teaches the class, she has not actually seen these students’ created scenes. She is anticipating excellent and captivating work, but she also realizes that these students began these projects two weeks in advance to the show.
“This isn’t a polished performance,” said Dunlap. “It’s not fancy costumes or sets or something we’ve been working on for weeks and weeks. It’s a showcase of student work in progress. We really believe the process is just as important, if not more important, than the final product.”
Although this isn’t a polished performance, the show will consist of 17 student-directed scenes, five or six musical performances between these scenes and a 10–15-minute final piece created by the movement acting class.
Dunlap encouraged students and faculty to come to the show because it is a celebration of student work and artistic process. It is an opportunity for these students to showcase what they’ve learned and to begin to foster the theatrical hopes and dreams they have for after college.
One of those students, Eliana Kelly, theatre major at NGU, has been working on her scene since the beginning of April. She explained that she began formulating her scene by asking what impression and message she wants to give to her audience. After coming up with an idea, she began carefully, yet quickly, creating the piece.
Kelly chose a scene from “Waiting for Gadot” and then began collaborating with another student director. After picking a scene and a co-director, Kelly chose the cast and then began rehearsing and blocking scenes.
Kelly explained that not only does she want to showcase her hard work to the audience, but she also wants to leave an impression.
“I would love my audience to come away with the thought: if there is change, they want to make or see happen, you can’t stay where you’ve always been and where you are comfortable. You have to start with yourself and make personal changes, including actions and mindset. But most importantly, repenting and allowing God to lead you and be with you through growth and change,” she said.
This event does not count as a PALS event, no tickets are required, and it is free of charge and open to the public.
Photo courtesy of Hamish Kale on Unsplash
