Student Blog: Back to School at the University of Colorado Boulder

Hi friends! I am a student at the University of Colorado Boulder studying theatre and journalism, so what could be better than writing about theatre for Broadway World? I absolutely love everything about being in Boulder from campus, to the Pearl Street Mall, to of course the iconic Flatirons. I couldn't ask for a better town to go to college in.

Though I'm not lucky enough to have a class schedule jam packed with theatre classes this semester I still spend plenty of time inside the theatre building. Mondays and Wednesdays are what I consider my "big theatre days." I only have one theatre class in my schedule this semester, Global Theatre, basically theatre history, but it's really cool to learn about the origins of theatre and the different performance traditions of other cultures. The class is taught by literally the sweetest grad student ever, Kaitlin, and you can just tell that she is so passionate about teaching us. I was lucky enough to work with her previously both as my Acting 1 instructor freshman year and my director in our spring production of Gallathea last semester, so I was super excited to be taking another class with her.

The rest of my class schedule this semester is pretty random, just trying to get a bunch of credits out of the way. I'm taking an environmental systems class to get some natural science credit done, and a class called Writing in the Visual Arts for a writing credit. That class has been particularly useful for me in writing about my own art as well as other art and artists. I'm also in a photojournalism class which has actually been pretty cool because I'm learning a lot more about how to use my camera to take better pictures and edit them well on photoshop.

Outside of class time I spend every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon in the costume shop in the theatre building. I began working in the costume shop last year after completing the costumes course required for theatre majors, and have continued working there ever since. It's the best job ever. I get to work on all of the costumes for our main stage performances, as well as the dance shows, whether we're altaring, making repairs, or fully constructing new costumes for the actors. I have learned so much in this job and the experience has prepared me for more than just a performance career.

What's the University of Colorado Boulder Theatre up to this semester?

This year we don't have access to our usual University Theatre performance space because it is under construction to improve the acoustics of the theater, so the department had to get creative when finding venues to perform in.

Most recently the department put on a production of ShakesFear: An Autumn's Tale, a haunted Shakespearian walk through experience perfect for spooky season. The venue chosen for this show was the Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre. I think the coolest thing about choosing this theatre is that it also hosts the annual Colorado Shakespeare Festival, so a lot of CU students got the opportunity to perform Shakespeare in a space where professionals get to do it every year.

Our next and final mainstage production of this semester is The Importance of Being Earnest which will be going up in November. This show will be performed in Old Main, the first and oldest building on campus. I never realized there was even a theatre space in there until I heard that we would be putting on a show there. It is such a beautiful and unique space, and I can't wait to see how the show turns out.

Other than our mainstage productions, the CU Theatre and Dance department also houses a program called Sandbox. The program is fully run and funded by undergraduate students who propose, produce, direct, design, and perform in the shows that the program puts on. This will be the second official year of the program, and it is continuing to gain excitement and popularity. The performances being put on this semester are The Performers (Sept. 16-18), Around the Dinner Table (Oct. 7-16), Barbecue Apocalypse (Nov. 4-6), and Mary Shelly (Dec. 8). You can check them out on instagram @sandboxcuboulder.

Lots of exciting stuff is going on in the University of Colorado Boulder department of Theatre and Dance this semester and I'm so excited to be as much a part of it as I can.

How is the semester going for me?

I've been enjoying all of my classes for the most part so far this semester. My classes aren't terribly hard, but I have a lot of stuff going on outside of class between homework, work, and other extracurricular activities.

This semester I led a staff for a retreat my church does every semester for new students. A lot of my time went into planning the retreat and getting my staff prepared. Luckily I didn't have to go completely without theatre because the particular staff that I let puts on a skit for all of the retreaters. I was able to try my hand at directing. I am so proud of the work everyone on my staff put into the skit, and the whole thing went off without a hitch. I wouldn't have traded the experience for anything.

The biggest bummer of this semester is that I wasn't able to perform in any of the university's main stage productions. I really thought I would be more okay with it because I was so busy otherwise, plus I'd still be spending a lot of time in the theatre building. But after seeing the first show of the season, while I was so proud of all of my talented friends and classmates, I found myself wishing I could be up there performing with them. There will be more opportunities to perform next semester, and I plan to audition for everything that I can. I'm still having a great time working in the costume shop now though, and I'm super excited to be working as the wardrobe crew head for The Importance of Being Earnest this November.

I'm super nervous about having such a busy schedule coming up next month, but I'm gonna get through it and I just can't wait to be a part of a show again.

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