Learning the Technique and Culture of Performing
Preparing students for life after college has long been part of the theatre and dance program at the College, and guest artists, master classes, and special workshops play an important role in that preparation.
Recently, for example, 17 College students returned early from winter break to participate in an intensive Shakespeare theatre and dance workshop led by renowned theatre instructor Meg Eginton and former American Ballet Theatre dancers and choreographers John Gardner and Amanda McKerrow. “By linking the disciplines of theatre and dance, choreography, and playwriting, we found a synergy that helped young dancers and actors move forward in their training,” says Hilary Harper-Wilcoxen, Principia’s dance professor.
Then, in late January, Broadway and film actor Mark Ledbetter visited campus to teach master classes and share a candid perspective on the demands that come with performing professionally. And this coming weekend, former Paris Opera Ballet premier danseur Karin Averty will teach master classes as well.
Along with boosting acting and dance technique, these visits offer students valuable insight into their prospective careers. “Mark told students about the kind of determination, work ethic, and drive it takes to have a career in the acting profession,” says Trish Schmit, theatre arts professor. “It is vital for our department to help students bridge the gap from college training to the professional world.”
“Our curriculum includes an Audition and Theatre Business class to support students as they transition into the professional world,” Schmit continues. “This class has been very successful. Recent graduates who took the course are performing professionally.”
Students’ feedback about guest artists’ visits is equally enthusiastic. “I’m grateful for these learning opportunities and have grown in leaps and bounds because of them,” says junior Aean McMullin. Lila Morse, a theatre arts major, concurs, adding, “These workshops allow fresh eyes and ears to see our work.”
Among the concrete benefits of this wider exposure are increased opportunities to perform. Four students interned at the Westcliffe Center for the Performing Arts in Colorado last summer, where they performed Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure in the historic Jones Theatre. And Principians have been invited to audition next week for the summer 2013 season. In addition, the fall production of Rumors by Neil Simon, directed by Professor Schmit, was selected for the 2013 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (ACTF) Region 3 Evening of Scenes in Saginaw, Michigan. Principia was the only college or university in Illinois to be awarded this honor.
Even wider exposure to the performing arts begins later this month for students studying abroad in Paris, Vienna, and Zurich. Professor Harper-Wilcoxen and Dr. Marie Jureit-Beamish, the Charles Stewart Harding Mott Distinguished Professor of Music, will lead the program, which explores European culture through music, opera, and dance and includes opportunities to interact with professional performers.
Learn more about the Theatre and Dance Department at Principia College.