Getting Involved in Theater
Al Stone-Gebhardt | September 20, 2023
At a school full of unique opportunities for students to get involved, Warren Wilson College (WWC) has many clubs in which students can hone their skills — and have fun! One of these ways is the theater.
Kittredge Theatre was previously a space where people from all walks of life could attend or participate in productions. However, due to COVID-19, the Kittredge Auditorium has seen less frequent attendance.
Theater Crew hopes to garner more student and faculty engagement to increase foot traffic once again. These efforts include advertising and a greater social media presence, as well as local outreach.
The crew’s intention is to foster the love of theater on campus once more, beginning with student participation. Many new and returning students are wondering how they can get involved with theater.
Grayson Schuck, WWC junior, is on Theater Crew and has been contributing to local theatrical productions since she was young. She has participated in most shows put on by the theater and even works locally in the Asheville Junior Theater.
“[Theater] has been part of my growth process, having been in it since I was 10,” Schuck said. “Being given opportunities to stage manage, take [on] a lot of responsibility, to have to be responsible for things and organize. Being given that trust is so fundamental to me. It blossomed me into the person I am.”
Schuck says that additionally, students can look forward to numerous productions in the coming months, as well as next semester.
An upcoming event hosted by the theater is Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman. Metamorphoses is a series of vignettes adapted from old Ovid tales that tell various Greek myths.
Additionally, the theater is putting on a series of 10-minute plays, with open submissions currently being accepted until Nov 1. Students are encouraged to write and direct a short play concerning a topic of their choice — which Schuck hopes will be lighthearted.
“We're letting the playwright direct the play,” Schuck said. “And then also cast the play and run it. Also, we're gonna have a director's workshop – so you're not just on your own for this. We have checkpoints to look at and talk about and use the props and costumes available.”
Schuck notes that this is a perfect way for students to get introduced to theater, among other opportunities, such as shadowing the crew.
“Auditions are always a great way,” Schuck said. “And even if you don't want to do the acting side, shoot us an email. We're always looking for tech people and we have lots of opportunities; [also] coming to shows and talking to us.”
Theater fanatics and curious students alike can look forward to the Climate Change Theatre Action on Sept. 22 in the auditorium. This year’s theme is “All Good Things Must End,” inspired by science-fiction author Octavia Butler. Auditions for this 5 to 7-minute play repeat every week on Fridays.
“It's also in a good position for you to network,” Schuck said. “We get internship opportunities [through theater]. Also, if you're in Asheville Junior Theater, there [is] an offer for people to do a set designer internship.”
For those who are passionate about theater, Lili Jones, crew member, and WWC sophomore, highlights the opportunities for students to take classes as an introduction to theater:
“Another good way to get involved in theater, if you want to start out, is to take one of the theater classes,” Jones said. “A very cool thing about being a part of a [class] play is that you can actually get a credit for it. So if you're in a play, like I was last semester, you can get two credit hours towards your GPA, which is really cool.”
Jones also notes that advertising efforts around campus can help students get involved, such as the bulletin board outside of Cowpie.
“We have one on the side of the theater when you're walking in that little breezeway,” Jones said. “The other one is in the bottom of Gladfelter, right next to Cowpie Cafe, which is a great place to look at what's coming up, what's happening, who you contact for things, how do you book stuff or get involved. We'll have all that information up there.”
One caveat is that WWC does not offer a theater major. However, the school supports unique opportunities to create your own major, according to Jones.
“You just have to take more theater classes than normal, or be an extra in plays,” Jones said. “There's also a lot of great local opportunities to be involved in theater, like the Monford Park Players. They mostly do [events] over the summer and early fall.”
While producing can be intimidating, taking classes or participating as background characters allows students to find opportunities to act in student-led productions, such as the upcoming shadow cast of Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Dean Wortas, the crew leader of the Queer Resource Center, has stepped down from helping choreograph student-led productions like Rocky Horror to take part in it. Their passion lies in dancing and being onstage and hope to promote further student-led productions in the future.
“What's nice about if this is your first-ever performance opportunity is that it’s a little different [from other productions],” Wortas said. “The movie is playing in the background behind you – you have a lot of people who have been there in the years before that know what's going on. If you get lost, you can look at the movie discreetly.”
WWC has hosted the Rocky Horror Show for three years, with a dedicated cast and crew.
“It's so exciting,” Wortas said. “The past two years we were barely scraping by with auditions. We would get barely enough people to fill the cast. But this year, there were [around] 25 people at auditions, and it was an actual, whole thing.”
“It's really just the love of the show and the love of performing and having such a queer space that is the driving force of [the production],” Wortas said.
Though auditions have closed, students can look forward to seeing the production on Oct. 28 and 29. For those interested in auditioning next year, auditions will take place in the third week of the fall semester.
Overall, Schuck hopes the vibrant and artsy culture of WWC guides more students toward theater as a form of expression.
“I think it would be good for this campus [to get involved],” Schuck said. “The art, the looseness and the performance spirit. A lot of times we have open mic nights; I think it is a natural fit. We just need to make that connection.”
For students interested in working behind the scenes or center stage, they can reach out to Kris Hernandez and Candace Taylor at khernandez@warren-wilson.edu or cetaylor@warren-wilson.edu, respectively.