Mary Morgan Collier, a senior theatre major, is the president of GC’s chapter of the collegiate theatre honors fraternity, Alpha Psi Omega. She is also the vice president of Omicron Delta Kappa, which is the national collegiate leadership society.
Collier chose to attend GC specifically for the theatre department.
“I was so involved in theatre in high school that it just felt like it would be wrong if I didn’t pursue it,” Collier said. “I love doing it so much, and I want to do it for a very long time.”
Furthering an education in higher learning helps to bridge the gap between high school and professional theatre. GC has a built-in focus on mutual respect for every position in theatre and gives students a full understanding of all the requirements in theatre and production.
There are no concentrations in the theatre major, and that is intentional. Students can take classes that focus on their specific interests. For example, Collier has taken classes geared toward what she calls acting, directing and dramaturgy, and she has put each of those skills to use in different GC productions.
The intent is that theatre students will become more well-rounded and utilize the liberal arts teachings to offer more to production agencies than students from other universities.
At GC, students are not only able to perfect their main interest but also learn how to do other jobs important to production.
GC theatre offers at least four different mainstage productions throughout getting a four-year degree. Another advantage of being involved in productions in college is that students gain a better view of what work in the theatre industry will be like.
“There are classes on the discipline you want to pursue, but there are also classes that are centered around what a good resume looks like or the unions that are available,” Collier said. “They have definitely helped me understand what your options are with a degree in theatre. While ‘everything’ is a broad answer to what you can pursue, it is a much better and more accurate one than Broadway.”
When considering careers, there truly are bountiful options to choose from, and the professors at GC will help students reach those options. Collier explained that the professors will always help students work on their monologues, assignments and post-grad plans.
Not only will professors help with the in-school requirements, but they will aid students in finding or getting opportunities to further themselves and their careers.
“I have a deep love for storytelling, and theatre is putting words of a narrative on their feet,” Collier said. “You have to constantly make decisions to communicate your interpretation of a text to an audience. I find that conversation between the artist and the audience very compelling.”
Ultimately, whether it be that those stories and expressions are the main draw of theatre, as with Collier, or it is something else entirely, GC hopes to enable students with the ability to do whatever they are aiming to do.
