Here at Gustavus, there are so many different opportunities for students to participate in things that catch their interest. Whether that has to do with their intended major and minor, or just simply a passion they may have, there are choices for students to look into.
Even so, at times the amount of opportunities can fall flat. This is especially true when it comes to the theatre department here on campus. For being at a college level, those who wish to pursue theatre here at Gustavus aren’t being provided the right amount of opportunities to put a production together.
“I think there should be more theatre opportunities on campus because students should learn how to work with a variety of people, in different settings, and even with different budgets. More productions prepare theatre students for the real world, and give non-theatre students more opportunities that fit in their schedule,” Sophomore Jenn Sorvick mentioned.
As it stands right now, Gustavus holds three major productions throughout the year, including the J-term production. This is a similar level and amount to most high schools. Meaning, clearly there aren’t enough productions being put on if it’s comparable to a lower level such as high school. It’s expected that college prepares students for the real world. In high school, most theatre productions are just for extracurricular fun. Here, it’s for a future career, so it’s presumed to be taken more seriously.
By the time someone who wishes to pursue a career in theatre reaches the real world, they won’t be nearly ready enough for the faster paced productions, or the varying budgets and different types of people, if they aren’t exposed to more productions throughout the year in college.
The opportunity to expose students to the way the true theatre world is being lost behind the minimal productions that Gustavus is currently offering. Even just offering more small-scale productions would overall be very beneficial.
For non-majors, big productions can be overwhelmingly intimidating. Yet, many people who aren’t majoring, or even minoring, in theatre still want to be a part of a production. Whether it be out of curiosity or a side passion they have, the option to be in a small-scale production-something less intimidating maybe-should be there. “I feel like there should be more extracurricular activities as the larger productions can be intimidating for non-majors and end up being the same people in each show,” First year Ruthie Erikstrup said.
Of course, there are a few small-scale productions throughout the year, but those few aren’t really hitting the mark. The quick pace we have on campus is still rather slow in comparison to some other production company timelines. The number of shows for each production is also rather small in comparison to other schools and real-world productions.
Essentially, the theatre department deserves more good quality, realistically thought-out productions over the course of the year. It’s important for theatre majors and minors to get an understanding of how different types of productions run-depending on different budgets, casts, crews, and timelines. Plus, on the other side of things, it’s important that the campus give non majors an opportunity to try new things and participate in anything that they may find interesting.
Every student should be able to make the most out of their education, and if more opportunities aren’t being provided, the most can’t be taken from it. Budget and resources are a serious question in this debate, of course, but I still believe, as someone who isn’t a theatre major, nor a theatre minor, the theatre program here at Gustavus deserves to get a little bit more love, just as every department does.