My summer marketing internship at Goodman Theatre changed the course of my life. Before last summer, I had only a vague idea of what my career goals were. Ever since my acting debut in my junior high’s production of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, I have known that I wanted to work in theatre. My passion for the art has always been unwavering. I appreciated theatre’s important function as a mirror to society, and the dynamic relationship between audiences and live performers was infectious and addicting. As I have grown and matured, particularly as a result of my internship, I have been able to focus the energy and excitement that I have for theatre into the worlds of marketing and dramaturgy.
As I am now graduating and must turn those energies into careers, I would like to begin my post-graduate experience by completing a season-long fellowship or apprenticeship at a large LORT theatre. While I gained a wealth of knowledge about marketing at the Goodman, I know there is still much for me to learn. I am looking for an apprenticeship where I can truly bridge the gap between my educational experiences and a life in the professional theatre. After completing an apprenticeship, I would like to be an entry-level marketing assistant at a theatre, ideally in audience development, publications, or e-marketing. If possible, I would like to work as a freelance dramaturg as well. After several years of experience, I will evaluate my position and decide whether to attend graduate school or continue working in the field.
As the first step on that career path, I am applying for the Marketing and Artistic apprenticeships at Steppenwolf. While these two fields may seem rather incongruous, I believe that my experience in dramaturgy enhances my ...
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...zing with activity of all kinds. Last summer, rarely was there a day when I could not find something to do, people to meet, or somewhere to explore. After having lived in the suburban South for my entire life, I am looking forward to moving to a large city like Chicago.
My internship at the Goodman was just the beginning; I am now ready to launch head-first into the world of professional theatre. During my internship at the Goodman, I discussed my future plans with several Goodman employees who had completed the Steppenwolf apprenticeship themselves. They all expressed how much they learned and grew during their time in the program, and I am seeking exactly the kind of experience they described. I believe that I will leave the Steppenwolf program as a better marketer and a better artist, with the skills and confidence necessary to succeed in the professional world.
In this area of theatre i have learned more about brainstorming, character position, the effectiveness of music, the effectiveness of light and at what darkness and more about character goals and character formation both physical and vocal.
The specialization and individualized professions in the field of Technical Theatre are relatively new to the stage in comparison to the period of time in which the art of Theatre has grown. Aiding in the development of concentrated professions such as scenic design has been a plethora of talented, skillful, intelligent and highly driven individuals. Among these influential fountains of creativity have been John Lee Beatty, Eugene Lee, Boris Aronson, Ming Cho Lee, Jo Mielziner, Tony Walton, Robin Wager, John Napier, Santo Loquasto, Heidi Landesman, and Julie Taymor along with many more.
The theatres in Chicago have a very vast and interesting history. Starting in the 1920’s, it has been around for a long time. Stephen Schwartz once said “I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason bringing something we must learn and we are led to those who help us most to grow if we let them and we help them in return”(goodreads.com). Broadway can help teach people morales. Broadway is one of the most exciting parts of downtown Chicago. Broadway in Chicago is undoubtedly less recognized then what it should be due to its talent and national status.
Liz Meyrovich, 19, moved 3,000 miles away from the Portland, Oregon home she grew up in to attend Emerson College, one of Boston’s many prestigious performing arts schools. Unlike many other aspiring actors and actresses who move to Los Angeles straight out of high school and work in minimum wage service industry jobs while going on numerous auditions, Meyrovich decided that she would get a degree. She was a musical theatre major, hoping that a degree from Emerson would fuel her career as an actress. But one year and $32,000 later, she came to the realization that it wasn’t going to happen.
There were make-up stains on the countertops along with trash on the floor. Quite often expensive costumes and personal belongings were strewn about. A few others would stay after the show with me to help clean up. The abundance of lost items in the dressing rooms sparked my interest to create a “Lost and Found” area. The director told me she appreciated my dedication to keeping things neat and organized. When our Sunday show awards ceremony rolled around, I watched the same people accept awards again, thinking I would not receive one. To my surprise, I received a ribbon and an invitation to be a Student Director for the remainder of high school. For the rest of ‘The Great Gatsby’ and throughout our spring show ‘Legally Blonde’, I worked hand in hand with our director and choreographer. I was with my fellow actors from 3:30pm to sometimes as late as 10pm. We would eat dinner together, talk with each other and do our homework. The experience of working as a team (similar to being in a close-knit family) gave me a sense of belonging and acceptance while striving to put on a spectacular production. I finally found my niche. The drama department was a place where I could be myself without feeling judged by others. For ‘Legally Blonde’ they used my design on the billboards, t-shirts and programs. I was so proud of myself that my hobby, graphic design, became something useful. This helped further boost my self-esteem and
There were many factors that contributed to the changes made to the Broadway theaters in the 20th Century. Broadway faced many problems during the time period of 1945-1955, resolved by numerous different solutions. This included impacts of World War II and the Great Depression, the decline in audience interest and the loss of many actors and producers.
Broadway: The American Musical is a film documentary, highlighting the evolution of musical theater, and how it has related and impacted modern day American life. Starting from the very beginning, the series documents the unfolding of this present day, entertainment medium- Broadway. We Americans, have taken musical theater, ran with it, ultimately creating what we know today as the Great White Way.
“Musical theatre isn’t some ancient, dusty, irrelevant invalid; it is, right now, a thriving, vigorous art form”. This statement by Miller (2007, p. 8) suggests that American musical theatre is still alive and abundant in today’s society. This essay seeks to support this claim by using three aspects of the ‘ecosystems of music’ framework (Schipper, 2009) to determine if musical theatre does indeed prosper in modern society. Specifically, this essay discusses the involvement of musicians and communities, the relevance of the musical contexts in today’s society, how it is disseminated and how it is supported by the media and music industry.
Lazarus, Joan. "On the Verge of Change: New Directions in Secondary Theatre Education." Applied Theatre Research 3.2 (July 2015): 149-161. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1386/atr.3.2.149_1.
Director Adam Burke was born and raised from Green Bay, Wisconsin. He went on to get his Bachelors of Fine Art from the University and Arizona and his Masters of Fine Arts from Northwestern University in Theater Directing. Adam was the founding artistic director at Chicago Theatre for Young Audiences. In addition, he received a national Theatre Communications Group New Generations Fellowship; with this fellowship he spent two more years as an artistic associate at a local professional theater—Childsplay. Adam Burke had been living in San Antonio for the past five years until his move to Charlotte last June. He worked as an assistant professor in the theater department at St. Mary’s University. Additionally, he is the artistic director of the Scioto Society, which produces the drama “Tecumseh,” in Chillicothe, Ohio. Burke is currently working as the artistic director at the Charlotte Children’s Theater. Recently, our class had the tremendous opportunity to interview Mr. Burke with questions relating to his process in directing.
...s at the school. I believe that my experience with new media production as well as my work in traditional theater speak to my ability to create ambitious, interesting work. I believe the School of Theater, Film and Television will provide an environment that will challenge and encourage me to grow artistically, while providing strong critical feedback and exposure to new ideas, to say nothing of the cultural opportunities that the Los Angeles community offers. I greatly enjoy collaboration and analytical exploration, which I hope will make me an asset to your program and my fellow MFA students in directing and other disciplines. I am confident that my drive and focus will make me an excellent director, but I think that the MFA program at UCLA offers an opportunity to grow beyond my own ideas and to become a superior artist to that which I can become on my own.
“The theatre was created to tell people the truth about life and the social situation,” says Stella Adler. Theater is unique and intriguing because it blends literary and visual arts to tell a story. Throughout the course, I have learned that understanding aesthetics and sociopolitical history is essential for appreciating and applying theater in the real world. Brechtian and musical theatre styles, such as applying musical theatre in RENT, are effective methods to convey crucial historical and social messages, utilizing theater as a platform outside of the arts and for a greater purpose of positive social change.
Then, there is technical theatre. This area of theatre is my favorite and the goal for my future. Technicians are the ones who create the world for the actors or somehow manage everything behind the scenes. Before I explain the multiple fields and areas of technical theatre, I must stress how important this side of theatre is overall. When it comes down to getting a degree in technical theatre or pursuing it, people tend to view it as a purely practical occupation and experience based. Take a look at it in comparison to performance; in a graduate thesis by Christian J. Hershey in 2015, he took a survey of college courses offered for theatre education for a technical focused theatre degree rather than those offered for a performance focused
Art and design are huge aspects of life today, and it influences everyone. Whether we realize it or not, there are signs all around us of trained professionals from art-related industries (Hennessey). Art and design careers can take forms that many people may not have thought about: people with art and design degrees find work in nearly every industry imaginable, in roles that didn’t even exist ten or fifteen years ago (“Art and Design Careers”). Industries and related careers are constantly expanding, providing art and design students with new opportunities. Possibilities for art and design careers are nearly infinite, and and they’re always growing.
Applied Theatre work includes Theatre-in-Education, Community and Team-building, Conflict Resolution, and Political theatre, to name just a few of its uses. However, Christopher Balme states that “Grotowski define acting as a communicative process with spectators and not just as a production problem of the actor” (Balme, 2008: 25). Applied Theatre practices may adopt the following “theatrical transactions that involve participants in different participative relationships” such as Theatre for a community, Theatre with a community and Theatre by a community Prentki & Preston (2009: 10). Whereas, applied theatre one of its most major powers is that it gives voice to the voiceless and it is a theatre for, by, and with the people. However, Applied Theatre practitioners are devising educational and entertaining performances bringing personal stories to life and build