Innovation, Collaboration, and Exploration Through Theatre at Saint Mary’s College
The Theatre Program at Saint Mary’s College is an oasis for students looking to hone their skills in acting and production. Performing Arts students who wish to study theater have two distinct options to choose from. Students can elect to major in Performance and Theatre Studies, a track which includes acting, theater studies and stagecraft, or Technical Theatre and Design, which focuses on stage design, lighting design, and stage and production management. Additionally, students in the Theatre Program can supplement their studies by taking courses through the Music and Dance Programs. Theatre Program Director Rebecca Engle notes that many theater students choose to broaden their theater training by taking music or dance classes, or by joining a performing ensemble in those disciplines.
One thing that sets SMC's program apart from other theatre programs at liberal arts institutions is that you don’t have to be a Performing Arts major to be involved in theatrical productions. Frank Murray, a member of the Theatre faculty and former Performing Arts chair said, “We tell our prospective students that we cast the people who are best suited for the role. It doesn’t matter if you’re a freshman, or a senior, or even a performing arts major or not.” When Michael Craigen auditioned for Spring Awakening as a freshman in 2012, little did he know that he would end up playing the lead in the musical. Zachariah Mohammed, a Business Marketing major at the School of Economics and Business Administration (SEBA), performed in the musical Anyone Can Whistle.
The students of the Theatre Program have opportunities that are not available at most other institutions. For example, this past fall the Theatre Program debuted the West Coast premiere of Chaste (an awful comedy). Students had the opportunity to perform in a new work that had only previously been performed in Chicago. Besides being able to work on a West Coast premiere, the students got to meet and interact with the playwright, Ken Prestininzi. Prestininzi made a special trip out to California specifically to see the play as well as give a talk prior to the performance.
“Most colleges produce the canon of modern and classical plays. Yes, we too do those great, iconic plays - but we are also committed to new plays by living American writers," Engle said. "When young artists engage with a successful, working playwright, doors open in their minds. They realize that fame is not the goal; instead, they begin to think about how they too might build a life in the theatre – a life of making good work with good and talented colleagues.”
What also makes the Theatre Program at Saint Mary’s special are the frequent collaborations with other Performing Arts faculty members, and with working professional designers. For its most recent production of Chaste, dance professor Rogelio Lopez assisted with choreography. A recent graduate of the Music Program, Zach Barbieri, composed original music, which was performed live; Dawn Foster-Dodson played the cello and Renee Witon played piano. Both are faculty in the Music Program. The production also featured the work of Bay Area professional artists like costume designer Anna Oliver. Oliver’s assistant, a freshman, shadowed her as she shopped for fabrics and conducted costume fittings. The student assistant was even entrusted with building one of the costume pieces herself.
The opportunities provided by the Theatre Program allow students to graduate as well-rounded creative artists, thinkers, and leaders ready to engage with the wider world. The rigorous liberal arts and performing arts curriculum and individualized attention that students receive from theater faculty produce graduates who are able to excel in and adapt to the ever-changing world of theater and performance. Graduates go on to perform in the Bay Area and across the country or to graduate studies at such prestigious institutions as Cal Arts, American Conservatory Theater, and Yale. Others put their skills to use through jobs at companies such as Pixar and Netflix.
A recent group of theatre alumni are in Los Angeles at the Stella Adler Academy of Acting. What is most interesting about the group is that Joseph Klink, Michael Kuzmack, and Haley Leitman (all class of 2014) all applied to and were admitted to the program at the same time. “The Stella Adler program only accepts 18 students, and out of those 18, three are Saint Mary’s College graduates,” said Murray.