The Saint Michael's College Drama Club recently sponsored a multi-focus improvisational event called Nacho Mama's Diner.  Thirty theatre students signed up to play roles in it  and I assigned each actor a character, a tendency, a secret and an objective.  The premise is that it's 4am in Nacho Mama's Diner in NYC. . . the characters don't all know each other but each one is there for a specific purpose.  

The characters are quirky, sometimes seedy, and range in type from a cop to a girl scout to a food critic to a drag queen to a supermodel to a mobster to a successful business woman -- and many more.  

Before the actors arrive on the day of the improvisation, I set up Nacho Mama's Diner on the McCarthy stage.

By Harvey Young

originally posted on www.backstage.com

Every year, a magazine or newspaper identifies what it considers to be the most and least valuable college degrees. The determination of value is typically done by imagining a particular career path for majors and then investigating its expected earning potential. To put it simply, such rankings attempt to tell readers which college degree will lead to the job that will pay the most.

Our Green Room gets quite a work out during the year.  During the academic year it's used for acting and directing classes, rehearsals,  improvisation events,  a meeting room for the cast and production team before performances,  a cross-over space under the stage, and a place for students to hang out.  During the summer, our Equity Theatre (Saint Michael's Playhouse www.saintmichaelsplayhouse.com) uses the Green Room as a prop shop and storage space.

Jill Holland, a sophomore Theatre major at Saint Michael's College, was nominated for the prestigious Richard Maltby, Jr. award for Excellence in Musical Theatre by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.  In February, the SMC Drama Club produced Ruthless! The Musical (music by Marvin Laird, lyrics by Joel Paley) directed by theatre majors Shannon Carroll ('15) and Zac Pesner ('15).

The Saint Michael's College Department of Fine Arts: Theatre presents "Dead Man Walking" by Tim Robbins. It is  the theatrical adaptation of Sister Helen Prejean's book and is a gripping and thought-provoking examination of one of the most divisive issues our society faces.  Is it ever morally acceptable to kill another person in the name of justice?  

This blog is by Professor Peter Harrigan, director of the production.

Three of our senior theatre majors decided to share some advice to prospective Saint Michael's College students.

MARY JO RODRIGUEZ

My name is Mary Jo Rodriguez, and I'm a senior Theatre and Music double-major at Saint Michael's College. My focus is on technical theatre, but the most valuable thing I've learned in my four years at Saint Mike's is never to limit yourself to one specialty.

MELISSA BRINER, Class of 2008

Melissa came to talk to the Life in the Theatre class on Monday, November 12th. She told our theatre students about touring with the Missoula Children's Theatre http://www.mctinc.org and working as a teaching artist and director for the past five years since graduation from Saint Michael's College. She gave our students a lot of good advice about how to market themselves and use their theatre degree in business and marketing fields. "Theatre is customer service.

TH 101 LIFE IN THE THEATRE is a required course for theatre majors at Saint Michael's College. It's offered every other fall semester. Here is a little more information: Course Description: This course explores the challenges of building and managing a career in professional theatre. The course focuses on how to discover job opportunities with professional and academic theatre organizations and how to prepare for interviews and auditions.

Our DRAMA CLUB eBOARD took time to take a few pictures on campus after one of their weekly meetings. Even though it was raining, it didn't dampen their spirits or their playful photo shoot.

Meet the eBoard:

PRESIDENT: Marla Jane Caram, Senior, Theatre Major with Business and Studio Art Minors.

VICE PRESIDENT: Anthony Bassignani, Senior, Double majoring in History and English with a Theatre Minor.

SECRETARY: Julia Bianconi, Sophomore, Double Majoring in Math and Secondary Education.
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