|
“Atlanta has a flourishing theatre scene with many
outstanding professional theatres filled with Oglethorpe
alumni,” noted Dr. Deborah Merola, associate professor and
director of theatre at Oglethorpe.
Merola hopes to utilize these alumni to bring more visiting
productions and workshops to Oglethorpe, which recently added a
theatre major to the curriculum and is expanding the theatre
program by further connecting with Atlanta’s professional
theatre companies.
The theatre department’s chief partner is Georgia
Shakespeare, Oglethorpe’s theatre-in-residence. The department
also has a close connection with 7 Stages which brings their
Conversations with Artists series to the Oglethorpe campus every
semester. These connections are very valuable to the
artist-in-training.
“Through these relationships we have been able to share
workshops, view productions and have notable directors visit the
Oglethorpe campus and our classrooms,” said Merola, who added
that these partnerships also lead to valuable internships and
future jobs. Indeed, five students were employed by Georgia
Shakespeare during summer 2005 in house management, lighting,
set construction and acting. Theatre students also regularly
intern in other local professional theatres, including Actor’s
Express, Center for Puppetry Arts, Dad’s Garage, PushPush
Theatre and Synchronicity.
Oglethorpe Theatre also gives back to Atlanta’s theatre
scene. The Advanced Characterization class, taught last fall by
Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Miroslaw Kocur, was open to
alumni and Atlanta’s acting community, several of whom joined
Kocur’s exciting experimental production of Aristophanes’ The
Women of the Thesmophoria.
Merola, herself a 2003 Senior Fulbright Researcher/Lecturer
at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal, enjoys the
collaborative process with students. “About half of the plays I
have directed have been based on literary or non-fiction
materials, often co-created with student actors,” she noted.
Productions by Oglethorpe’s theatre department give students
experience in all aspects of theatre, while providing exciting
cultural opportunities for local audiences. For current
production information, visit keyword:
theatre.
|
