Music Theatre Scenes offers students a new learning opportunity

By Joseph Tkacik
Staff Writer

There is a class being offered here at Georgia College & State University that offers students who wish to express their acting abilities with a musical flair to do so. The class is called Music Theatre Scenes, and it involves the acting out of musical shows similar to “Oklahoma,” and “The Sound of Music.”
“This is a non-audition class for now,” said Dr. Wendy Mullen, assistant director of music. “Although the class is non-audition now, that may have to change if the demand for the class gets too high.”
When the classes are put together everyone will be evaluated to determine the ability level of the class, then the show that will be worked on for the rest of the semester will be chosen.
“This semester we are working on a piece called ‘Into the Woods’ by Stephen Soundheim,” said Dr. Mullen. This piece is very involved and difficult; it can be compared to the likes of “Oklahoma” and “The Sound of Music.” This production will be performed April 25, at Max Noah recital hall.
“Music Theatre Scenes is a great way for the music and theatre departments to come together and help utilize each other’s strengths and work on the weaker spots,” said senior music education and vocal performance major Lisa Haywood. “Dr. Wendy Mullen, our teacher/director, does a wonderful job of utilizing our strengths by pushing, challenging and stretching us to make us better performers all around. Over my four semesters in this class, I’ve been able to play a variety of roles, from one extreme to the other. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun.”
At the end of every semester there is production that brings all of the techniques taught together so that the class can see what they have learned.
“The final production is done in workshop style, so there really isn’t too much of a set, and we use minimal costumes,” said Dr. Mullen. “The show always turns out great even though there is a lack of funding.”
‘Into the Woods’ plays off of all of the fairy tales like “Cinderella,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and “Jack and the Bean-Stalk;” said Joey Villimez a sophomore theatre performance major, who also plays Jack in the production. “Most of the parts are played by several students at different times so that everyone has the same amount of stage time. I love everyone in the class, and Mullen is great to work with.”
If you are interested in taking this class in the fall or have any more questions about it, you can contact Dr. Mullen at 445-1249 or you can e-mail her at dmullen@gcsu.edu. Dr. Mullen would be more than happy to assist you with whatever questions you may have.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 19 2002. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry