What do theatre and dance students learn? Part 2

In Part 2 of “What do theatre and dance students learn?” we explore how theatre and dance students learn the skills that employers most desire in potential candidates. (Haven't read Part 1 yet? Check it out.)

Communication Skills: There’s a fantastic triangle of communication with every performance of theatre and dance: artists communicate with one another and with their audience. They must communicate on multiple levels. And in the creative process one must articulate their intention as well as a reflection on process and on the product and on the relationship between process and product. Students are constantly challenged to articulate their intent through written words, verbal expression and through performance (often through the lens of another artist's play or choreography—another layer of communication).

The auditions sees the demonstration of learning on stage in
productions such as The Nosemaker's Apprentice (Spring 2015).

Problem Solving/Analytical Skills: There are an incredible number of ways to accomplish a performance. The road from first thought to final performance is a winding path with many obstacles. Whether it’s analyzing a script for performance or discovering the piece of choreography that’s right for every measure of music, the theatre and dance student is challenged to be analytical in their creative problem solving.

An important aspect of this skill is Time Management. There is always a great, looming clock that threatens “Opening Night”… The problems, we hope, will have been given a solution by the rise of the first curtain. When alumna Kellyanne Klause was asked, “What would you consider the most valuable thing you have learned at Bloomsburg University?” she answered, “Time Management. You need to learn how to manage your time as a theatre major…to organize and to prioritize your time.”

Teamwork: Collaboration is at the heart of live performance in theatre and dance. Students understand not only that they need to rely on others, but that others rely on them. We stress the value of “ensemble”—respectful, effective collaboration that puts the good of the group first.

Initiative/Self-Starting: Developing a strong “work ethic” is how students will succeed in theatre and dance at school and beyond. We know that being "on time" arriving at least 15 minutes early and being ready to go—warmed up, having rehearsed and prepared on your own—when rehearsal begins. Student set designers, actors, dancers, directors, playwrights are all expected to meet the goals set out by the faculty and by themselves.

Leadership: Students are regularly given leadership roles, formally and informally. Informally, there is a culture built in theatre and dance that the more experienced students are role models for the less experienced. Formally, students are assigned “Practicum” assignments that cast them as Head Usher, Director, Assistant Director, Fight Captain, Producer, Costume Designer and other roles that require that they join the leadership team or are the leader of the team itself.

Flexibility: Sometimes your first idea doesn’t work. Sometimes someone else has a better idea. As an effective collaborator, you have to be willing to let go of your “favorite idea” if there’s a better solution in the room.

Every one of these skills was used in the process of creating
this scene from Macbeth (Fall 2015).

Creativity: This may be the most self-evident?

Willingness to Learn: Every theatre and dance student is challenged to take advantage of every opportunity to learn. A great artist is to be a well-rounded artist. Students should not only be willing to learn about all areas of theatre and dance, but to seek out those learning opportunities every chance they get.

Attention to Detail: On stage and off,  students are asked to “go back to the basics”—what is being communicated in this play, this lighting design, this choreography? Does that match your original intent, in every detail? As an artist you are responsible for every choice on that stage, every word in that script, and every line of that criticism. Every detail is a choice, so you had best pay close attention to every detail.

Interested in seeing these skills at work or in getting involved in the division of theatre and dance? Visit buplayers.org.

Five Questions for Kate Mochnacz, Actor

Kate Mochnacz is playing the role of Julie in The Nosemaker's Apprentice. We asked her five questions. 

Kate Mochnacz as Hecate
in the BU Players production of Macbeth, Fall 2014

What made you first interested in acting?

I saw my first Broadway show when I was seven.  My mom had planned to buy our tickets at TKTS, with the hopes of seeing Beauty and the Beast.  However, by the time we made it to the front of the line, there weren't two seats next to each other, and mom my didn't really want to let her seven year old daughter sit by herself.  I was given the choice between seeing Thoroughly Modern Millie or 42nd Street and choose Thoroughly Modern Millie because that name was more fun to say.  Five minutes into the show, I fell in love with theatre.  A short two months later, I was back in the city, this time with my mom, my brother, my grandma, my aunt, and my two cousins.  Again we tried to get tickets for a certain play (I forget which, but it’s not important to the story), but were unsuccessful.  I managed to talk my brother and cousin Max into seeing Thoroughly Modern Millie.  This time, I was much more observant of the show and the atmosphere.  I knew then that I wanted to be on stage and acting.

What do you find interesting or appealing about The Nosemaker’s Apprentice?

I love the script.  As the Little Girl, I really get to listen and focus on the story of the script.  It’s fun at every rehearsal to listen to the story that my fellow actors are telling.  I also love that every time we rehearse that I find something new about the story and the script.

What is the most challenging aspect of acting in this particular play?

Not laughing.  The show is funny and for most of the show, I’m listening to the story.  However, I can’t laugh, so that’s definitely a challenge for me.

What would be your ideal role or roles in any play or musical?

I have a long list dream roles and I've been fortunate enough to have been able to cross off a few of them since I started acting.  A few roles that are still on my list would be Little Red in Into the Woods and Emily Webb in Our Town.

Kate Mochnacz in her natural form
(a princess who loves cats)

If you were a fruit or vegetable, what would you be? Why?

I would be a strawberry because I love strawberries.  They’re also in season between April and August which is my favorite time of the year: April-June because the weather is nice, July because it’s my birthday month, and August because I occasionally have free time!

Kate Mochnacz is a sophomore majoring in Early Childhood/Special Education with a Concentration in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education as well as Theatre with an Integrated Emphasis.  In her free time, Kate balances her multiple majors, clubs, social life (insert laughter here) and questions her sanity.

Five Questions for David A. Miller, Director

David A. Miller is a theatre & dance division faculty member and Director of The Nosemaker's Apprentice. We asked him five questions.

King Duncan received Macbeth and Banquo
in Macbeth, directed by David A. Miller, Fall 2014

What first interested you in directing?
I believe that I began my theatre experience in Cub Scouts. We would do skits for the Pack Meetings and on camping trips. I have a vague memory of wanting to rehearse the skits more than the other scouts. I knew that we could get more out of the comedy… I was trained first as an actor, but by the end of undergrad I began to shift my focus to directing.

What do you find interesting about The Nosemaker's Apprentice? 
This play is fantastically ridiculous. As the playwrights guided us, it is a great chance to be shameless. As long as we are grounded in some sort of emotional truth we get to take things as far as we can. I love that freedom. And I love this style of comedy—the mix of highbrow and lowbrow, the mix of family friendly and far-from-family friendly humor.

Where have you found your inspiration for directing The Nosemaker’s Apprentice?
My love of Monty Python’s Quest for the Holy Grail, the Naked Gun series, Princess Bride and other comic sources have been great guides and inspiration. I always do a lot of research and the visual images that I find are pretty important in my understanding of the play and to how I share my understanding of the play with designers in early meetings. Several quotes from the play have been driving forces as well, including “You never know what horrors may be revealed to you when the masks be lifted and bandages unfurled.” and “…they lived short, brutish lives filled with magic and wonder.”

Who is an artist you admire? Why?
There are many artists I admire, that’s for sure. The visual artist Anselm Kiefer is one who springs to mind. The work that he does is socially conscious and visually impactful. I love the work of actor Mark Rylance. The way that he really lives on stage is phenomenal. I admire director Arin Arbus for the clarity and heart that she brings to her productions of Shakespeare’s plays.

If you were a fruit or vegetable, what would you be?
I would like to be a star fruit. There’s something so unique about it. I don’t know that I would be a star fruit, but I aspire to be a star fruit.

David A. Miller is a director, playwright and educator in his third year of teaching for the division of theatre and dance at Bloomburg University. He is a resident director for Amphibian Stage Productions in Fort Worth, TX (where he directed The Nosemaker’s Apprentice this past summer) and is the former founding artistic director of The Artful Conspirators in Brooklyn, NY. David is also a big fan of visual art and loves spending time in museums and galleries.