Mannequins outside the costume shop at the Purnell Center for the Arts.
Last week, I visited Pittsburgh for the first time, and a bright highlight of my trip was spending an afternoon at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama. The campus was bursting with back-to-school energy and excitement.
Between classes, students gathered in the hallways of the Purnell Center for the Arts, where upperclassmen colorfully decorated the lockers of the incoming class, a yearly tradition. I learned about another beginning-of-the-school-year custom, where the faculty and students gather in the lobby on the first day of classes to announce each incoming freshman and cheer them on, followed by a pizza party. How sweet is that?
Alexander Farrell, a senior in the stage and production management program, graciously gave me a tour of the performance spaces, studios, and classrooms. I peeked into the costume shop, where costumers were working on costumes for the upcoming fall productions of Gloria and Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play, and into a design studio, where freshmen were learning to hand draft.
I also got to be a fly on the wall in a few classes and marveled at the junior musical theatre students practicing choreography with a live percussionist. In a sophomore scene class, I watched two students experience revelations about their characters through practicing psychological gestures. In another sophomore scene class, students sprawled out on the floor, drawing analog self-portraits, and I observed as logical thinking gave way to creative thinking.
The professor, Andrew Smith, told me the goal of the course is “rapid expansion of creativity,” tying into the program’s philosophy to train students to be artists. “I want my students to lift up every room they go into,” Smith said with a smile.
The whole experience left me nostalgic for the classroom and excited about the artists-in-training preparing for a life in the theatre.
In addition to CMU, playwright August Wilson is another strong link between the Steel City and the theatre industry.
Check out this American Theatre article about the Baltimore August Wilson Celebration, which will include educator workshops and student matinees.
Wishing you all an exciting fall semester as you welcome new and returning students back to campus!
Around the Web
- A new era! Children’s Theatre Company welcomes artistic director Rick Dildine and managing director Jill Anderson.
- Manhattan Theatre Club has named Rachel Kara Pérez the director of learning and community engagement for its revamped education program.
- The American Theatre Wing has announced the recipients of the 2024 Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative, including training scholarships and classroom resource grants.
- Check out Playbill’s “Back to School” series, including this piece on where Broadway professionals trained.
- Poughkeepsie’s Chance Theater will be home to The Empire Training Center for the Arts, which will provide training opportunities and promote diversity in the technical and administrative sectors.
- Check out this article on Boston University’s collaboration with the nonprofit Brighter Boston, which empowers Boston public school students with hands-on training with backstage technical internships and jobs.
- I loved this recap of a writer’s six weeks of training at École Philippe Gaulier.
- Read this inspiring article about Jack Austin, a music theatre performance student at Western Michigan University, who runs a summer youth theatre program and aspires to be a theatre educator.
On Social Media
Who is a theatre educator who changed your life?
AT readers respond:
Ann Mahoney
Morris Block at Riverdale High School in Jefferson, La. He believed in me before I believed in myself.
Mike Lubke
Donald Preston. Over the span of a couple months of rehearsal, he showed me an entire career path I could dedicate myself to, as well as a meticulous and compassionate attention to detail that laid an adamantine foundation for my future studies.
Andrea St. Clair
Dr. Ethel Pitts-Walker at San Jose State University. She taught from her soul and was masterfully inspiring. I think about what I learn from her often.
Miranda Daniloff Mancusi
David Downs from Northwestern University. David taught me how to act, how to write, how to tell stories, how to listen to music, and appreciate art because he showed us the root of human drama, frailties, hopes, and dreams. I always say the best writing teacher I had was an acting teacher in college!
Armando McClain
Max Minton changed my life, and in many ways saved it. All by accident when I signed up for Drama on a dare in high school. I found my purpose in that class, and I’m still going but I will never forget what I learned in that drama portable.
Read more great responses here.
From the Archives
This 2021 article is about the return-to-school experiences of students and staff as they made their way back to campus following the pandemic shutdown.
