Student Blog: Clubs at College

I am BACK babes!

It’s Natalie with another blog post, and today I am going to be talking about CLUBS at the University of Michigan, specifically the theater and performing opportunities!

To preface this, I thought I would give a bit of a life update. My family is currently camping on the far east side of Michigan (like literally right on Lake Michigan), so I am writing this from the kitchen table of our camper. I love camping – what’s not to love about getting to sleep in, drink coffee, and just reading in a hammock or on the beach all day? (At least that’s what I do when I camp, I don’t know about you… I highly recommend it though.)

ANYWAY, back to today’s topic: clubs at UMich! I guess I should start by saying this is a hard topic to write about because there is seriously SO MUCH to do at this school, it can seem intimidating. There are quite literally 1,000+ different clubs and counting, because so many new ones get started every year! There are campus-wide clubs, as well as ones specific to your school or major. They can range from sports to consulting to nature to theater and more. Basically, whatever you like to spend your free time doing, there is a club for it at UMich. Personally, I am involved in four clubs – I talked a bit about them in my previous post, but thought I would go over them again, as they are a bit more applicable here.

• Rude Mechanicals: This is the one theater club that I am involved in at UMich. Rude Mechanicals is the largest student-run dramatic theatre organization on campus. We produce 2 student-led plays every year (1 per semester), completely directed, produced, and put on by students. I am an Associate Producer, which involves working closely with the Executive Producers to carry out the organizational tasks and upholding the vision of the current season. Some other responsibilities are attending rehearsals and production meetings and managing certain contracts.
  • I adore this club and every person involved in this amazing organization. It fosters such an inclusive and welcoming space for creativity to truly flow. I am so excited to jump back into this role when I return to campus in the fall.
• BBA Marketing Club: I will begin my role as Membership Director of the business school’s marketing club in the fall. As a member for my entire first year, I made incredible connections and friendships, as well as growing professionally. This club definitely gave me an advantage in my applications for internships this summer and helped prepare me for my summer marketing internship.
• Phi Gamma Nu (PGN): PGN was the first club I joined when I got to UMich – it’s a professional business fraternity within the business school but accepts all majors. This organization is where I found some of my closest friends (including my roommate for next year!). Even if you’re not a business major, business fraternities can be so beneficial, if not just for the professional help and connections you make. By the end of my semester, I had a strong resume, LinkedIn, and knew how to write a cover letter, none of which I would have if not for PGN.
• Women’s Glee Club: I joined Glee Club my second semester and had such a fun time! This is another club open to all majors, and it was so fun to hang out with other ladies twice a week who also love to sing. Glee has 2 concert per year (1 each semester) and even went on an international tour this year (to Ireland!).

Okay, so that was kind of lengthy, but I think it just speaks to how much I love the clubs I am involved in. They have helped me build a strong community at UMich, and moving up to leadership positions gives me things to put on my resume and LinkedIn early on in my professional career!

Now, moving onto theater clubs specifically at UMich. As a non-theater student (again, I’m majoring in Business Administration), joining theater was still really important to me, so I will use this space to highlight opportunities for other non-majors.

To put it simply, there are 3 big theater clubs at UMich; Rude Mechanicals, MUSKET, and Basement Arts. Of course there are others, as well as tons of student-run projects each semester, but these are the 3 that I will focus on in this post as they typically have the most going on, as well as the most potential opportunities to get involved.

• Rude Mechanicals: As a producer for Rudes, I am a tad biased towards it, but objectively it such a fantastic club to get involved in, especially as an underclassman. Besides the Associate Producer position (which I do), there is need for Assistant Directors (typically reserved for freshmen directing majors), Costume Designers, Graphic Designers (for show posters), Marketing team, and of course, acting (and many more!). Rudes casts typically consist of half acting/BFA majors and half non-acting. Someone in the most recent was a Psychology major! There is truly so much acceptance and desire for non-theater majors, and Rudes is a great space to join theater in college.
• MUSKET: Unlike Rudes, who does strictly plays, MUSKET produces 2 full-length musicals every year. It operates very similarly to Rudes, with a production team, marketing team, and it being entirely student-run and led. While their casts do typically consist of more theater majors, there are always some who are not. In fact, I had a friend who was in the cast of Catch Me If You Can last semester, and she is a mechanical engineering major!
• Basement Arts: Basement Arts, unlike Rudes and MUSKET, puts on a large number of small productions each semester, including plays and musicals. They do everything from student-written one-act plays to full-length Broadway musicals (I saw Falsettos thought BA last semester and… let’s just say tears were shed). Basement Arts is great because their show timelines are typically shorter, which gives creative teams more time to work on other projects if they desire.

Well, there you have it! An overview of some of the clubs at UMich, the ones I’m involved in, and just a few of the theater-focused ones you can join! The amazing thing about UMich clubs is that they are truly so welcoming, and there really is something for everybody. I know it can seem daunting (it definitely did to me), but the best thing you can do is just put yourself out there! Try out things that interest you, and even things that might not! Joining clubs is where you will find your best friends and see so much growth in yourself.

You can do this!!

Peace and love,

Natalie

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