A different kind of senior project

For most seniors, the weight of that culminating senior paper was relieved as of April 28. For theatre/dance majors, however, the weight will be lifted May 8 when they present their final showcases of creative work.

Students in the theatre/dance department do not have to write a paper, but instead are invited to communicate with audiences through original and inspired performances.

“I think that it is a rarity that seniors are able to have this opportunity to express themselves through artistic channels instead of being constricted to writing a paper,” Jennie McEllistrem (‘10) said. “We are able to show that after these four years of learning, yes, we too can put on a professional showcase of our thoughts, opinions, ideas and emotions.”

While most seniors may procrastinate a bit on paper writing, with lines to memorize and props and sets to create, procrastination is simply not an option for these students. The theatre/dance seniors have been holding rehearsals for months. Ashley Scouton (‘10) held auditions for her piece, November 2012, at the end of fall semester.

Scouton’s performance of November 2012 was shown in Storre Theatre in January. Because of this, it was easier for her to prepare for the final showing because she had spent so much time with the script and with the actors.

Students’ shows can last up to 25 minutes. With this stipulation, Scouton chose to rework the second act of the play, which started out at 17 minutes.

“I knew I wanted to expand on a couple of scenes,” Scouton said. “I also added two monologues that were a part of the original. The whole piece is an original play written by a friend of mine, Keith Hovis, who is a U of M graduate.”

Though theatre/dance majors are not required to write a formal paper, they are advised to keep a journal, analyze scripts and document rehearsal schedules. Some projects may even include doing a bit of background work.

“I did a lot of research about the psychological effect of birth order on each individual position within an entire familial unit,” McEllistrem said. “This was done during first semester. We had to write a proposal to the theatre/dance department about what type of show we wanted to do and how we thought we would go about doing it.”

The shows created by Scouton and McEllistrem will be joined by those of Rose Milligan (‘10) and Anna Wicks (‘10). Scouton will present the final rendition of “November 2012,” and Wicks will perform with a cast in a version of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” McEllistrem will present her original dance “In Order to Change,” and Milligan will showcase an original dance called “Righteous Euphoria Resides on a Slippery Slope.”

In addition to these four women, there are two other theatre/dance majors who chose to do their final projects in areas other than performance or directing. Martha Beggerly (‘10), who has stage managed multiple shows here at Luther, wrote a guidebook to stage managing called “A Guide to Stage Management at Luther College.” This tool can be used by students in years to come, regardless of experience.

Nick Broten (‘10) devised and created the lighting design for the recent dance production “I Have Nothing Burning.” He is also creating the lighting design for the senior showcase.

The theatre/dance majors may not have had to write about a well-researched subject, but a different kind of work was involved.

“Some may think we had it easier than most seniors who had to write a paper, but we began our projects last semester and have had to work with people with very different schedules in order to create an enjoyable piece of art,” Scouton said. “It required major commitment.”

Some feel this opportunity may be more applicable to life than writing a paper.

“We can hopefully take this work as the final learning tool we need to graduate and be in the real world,” McEllistrem said.

The two dance performances will be presented May 7, starting at 5:30 p.m. in Storre Theatre. All four pieces will be shown May 8, beginning at 2 p.m. For more information, see the Facebook event “Theatre/Dance Senior Shows.”