Robin Hood!

 

I love sitting in the auditorium at the T. Furth Center for the Performing Arts. I love all the programming, but I also love sitting quietly in the early mornings. There are a few sounds…the sound of a muffled trumpet in a practice room…the sound of the furnace humming away in the distance…and the echoes of students singing, dancing, and performing across the stage.

My imagination can see them so clearly. I see their shadows in all the shows I have produced. I can hear their laughter and see their grimaces as lines are yet to be learned. I know these young people, and, yes, I adore them.

We are deep into rehearsal now for Robin Hood. It has been my pleasure this semester to cast Muriel Mackey as Robin Hood. It seems fitting, really. When I first took over the program Muriel was my Dracula. She was a freshman at Trine when I first met her. Before I actually took the job as director, I found her on campus and asked if she would be returning to Trine her sophomore year. We didn’t know each other at the time, and I am sure she thought it was a strange question coming from a strange professor, but she answered yes. That was enough for me to take the job. Funny how things work out. Muriel is a graduating senior this spring, much to my chagrin. It was only fitting to cast her as Robin Hood. She is full of energy and keeps the cast on their toes. It will be hard to let her go at the end of this show.

One night after our rehearsal, our new music director, Dr. Brad Jopek, came up to me and told me what a lot of noise we were making on the stage while he was working downstairs. It was not a negative comment, but one of great interest. I told him it is, indeed, an energetic show. He shows up almost every night just to see the fun we are having!

Our Robin Hood show has great family appeal. Your kids will love it. You will love it. We invite you to come on in the first weekend of April and let the world slide by as we entertain you.

Not only are we working hard (and playing hard) on the stage, but my theatre students have also once again put together a theatre workshop for area middle school and high school students. Last year, senior Sean Carpenter, wanted to do these workshops so we worked out all the details and had our first one. It was a great success even though it happened to coincide with spring break. This year the students voted to do it again, so we got everything set up earlier with our workshop on Wednesday, February 26. The event begins with registration at 3:45 and the workshops beginning at 4:00. All students will get the workshops taught by my theatre students on important topics we all deal with in theatre: blocking, character development, back stage information, audio and tech. My assistant director, Lydia Roop, and I will host a director’s round table as we answer questions and also take the time to learn from one another.

A pizza party is planned for 5:00. Last year the pizza party was definitely a big hit with all the attendees and my students sitting together and chatting with one another. They were all loud and noisy and great fun. My students loved interacting with them.

The concluding event is watching the first act of the show before they all leave for home with heads full of theatre! I know I would have loved spending time with a university theatre when I was their age. It truly isn’t that we know that much more, but we all share the same goal and that is to produce a fun show for our audiences.

If you have a student or a young person who might enjoy this, drop me a line, and I will send you a registration form. We are excited to once again bring this to the community.

The arts programs are alive and well at Trine University. We have students who love performing with their music, their theatre skills, their tech skills. We are fortunate to all share the space in the T. Furth. If you have never been inside the building before, now is a great time to come and visit!

Come see us…we really are great fun!