Although the new Gibson Center probably has not increased student attendance at drama productions, it has heightened enthusiasm within the drama department and student body alike, said Associate Professor of Drama Dale Daigle.
“I certainly sense a real enthusiasm. It’s just a much more productive atmosphere because the facilities are set up in a way that allows us to do what we do comfortably and easily,” said Daigle.
The new space also served as a draw for the recent freshman class.
“Knowing there was going to be an amazing new theater when I came here was like the highlight of my life. It’s really nice to know you always have somewhere you can go to and you always meet a lot of friends there. I love it,” said freshman Nina Sharp.
“I came here because of the drama program,” said freshman Ellen Huffman. “I had been looking at a lot of liberal arts colleges, but this one had the most extensive program.”
Junior Rachel Fisher, who was recently seen in the senior thesis production of “Dead Man’s Cell Phone,” said working in the new building also made rehearsals go much more smoothly.
“Both the space, the availability of the space and the fact that we had so much rehearsal time actually in there really helped because we weren’t vying with everybody else for the one small stage,” said Fisher.
Before Gibson opened, Fisher was in last spring’s senior thesis production of “Incorruptible.” Although the cast was to perform in Norman James Theatre, Fisher said very little time was spent actually rehearsing on the actual stage.
“We ended up rehearsing in classrooms in William Smith and a small practice theater in Middle [Hall], it was a bit of a nightmare,” said Fisher.
Several technical difficulties arose because of the limitations of the space. Fisher said that it took about a day-and-a-half to hang lights for “Incorruptible” in Norman James, calling the process “ridiculous.”
“Right now, for ‘Troy Women,”’there are hundreds of lights being used. That would not have been remotely possible in Norman James because there simply isn’t enough room. Also, while there is a booth for the stage manager in Norman James, it’s awful because it’s too small and you can’t hear or see the actors well enough to call cues,” said senior Katie Skarwecki.
Freshman Taylor Goss said that in the new Tawes Experimental Theater, setting up lighting takes less time because, “there are two different levels of catwalks. It makes things more accessible and also gives us a lot more options.”
Fisher said that the new Tawes is a good resource because of its small size.
“I’m local to the area and I can remember the old theatre. The old Tawes was this huge, enormous space. The experimental theatre is really exciting because it is so intimate,” said Fisher.
Daigle also thinks the new Tawes is one of the best things about the Gibson Center.
“I think from the perspective of our department, the most important thing is that we finally have a dedicated academic space for classes and thesis productions—the little theatre,” said Daigle.
Daigle also believes the new Gibson Center is more inviting than the previous building.
“The old building was intimidating. It had sort of a dark façade. This building invites you in,” said Daigle.
Daigle said the process of building the new Gibson Center took about ten years.
“There were a lot of bumps in the road, but I think we ended up with a pretty neat facility. I really do think that we were fortunate in that we were allowed to participate in conversations from the beginning about what it should look like and how it should work,” said Daigle.
During that time, Daigle described the drama department as being “homeless” but it offered an interesting educational experience for students.
“ I think there was a lot of value for the students involved because when they leave here, they’ll have to know how to make theatre wherever they are, however they can, in whatever space is available,” he said.
However, Daigle said that with the new space and how up-to-date it is, students have the opportunity to play with new “toys” and experiment.
“This is how it should be. This is the time when they should have the opportunity to learn and play with the state of the art technology,” said Daigle.
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