MSUM students are doing amazing things. Our students embrace diversity, challenges, opportunities, unique experiences and continue to produce incredible results. Our students participate in student organizations, attend and present at regional and national conferences, compete at regional and national competitions, collaborate on faculty-mentored projects, gain hands-on experience through internships, help coordinate community service projects, and more. Many have won prestigious scholarships for academic excellence and many have won awards for their stellar work inside and outside of the classroom. See what the students from the Theatre Arts Department are doing.
Carolyn Schmitz, Theatre Arts
“Each one of the professors are very, very different, and they have different styles of teaching. That’s also very helpful because if you are an actor, you are not going to see the same director when you go from place to place. They definitely offer variety.” “The MSUM Theatre Arts department focuses on teaching you all of the areas. If you come in as an actor, everyone has to learn the tech side of theatre or design. We have costuming classes, how to build sets, or how to design things. The people that are on the tech side have to take acting, dancing and singing classes. You really get a feel for everything, which definitely broadens your horizons for the future because you have more job possibilities.”
Nikko Raymo, Theatre Arts
“My freshman year they did RENT, and I wasn’t expecting to get anything. I got a call back for one of the lead roles, Angel, and then I ended up getting the part. That’s something I’m pretty proud of. Whether you’re a theatre major, or minor, or non-declared, just try out because they will give you a chance.” “I did Straw Hat this summer and I was in five shows. It was a great learning experience. It taught me whether I really want this, because Straw Hat summer theatre is really intensive. It tests the water to see if you can handle it.”“There is sketch comedy within the department. It’s basically like Saturday Night Live. We get together every Tuesday night at 10:00 and we write sketches about funny things and then we perform them. We do three shows a semester.”
Caroline Stommes, Theatre Arts
“I have been in the Straw Hat Players for two years, which is audition Theatre Company here. That has been a really great experience; it’s been intense but it’s been great.”
Kimberly Miller represented MSUM and Region Five at the National Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C at the end of spring semester. She participated in the Stage Directors and Choreographers (SDC) competition at the regional festival last January in Ames, Iowa. Out of the six finalists from the region, the judges selected Kimberly to go to Nationals in April. Kimberly participated in master classes and workshops taught by Joy Zinoman of the Studio Theatre in D.C., Laura Eason of the Looking Glass Theatre in Chicago, and John Dillon of SDC, among other professional directors, playwrights and artistic directors from around the country. Also as a result of competing at the regional festival, Kimberly is now an associate member of the SDC union.
A video shot by three MSU Moorhead students has been named a winner in a contest aimed at helping make modern technology safer for young people. The video titled “Message Sent” is a cautionary tale about what can happen to a very personal image once the “send” button is pushed for a text message. Adam Brant made the video with two friends, Torrey Halverson and Caroline Stommes, who also acted in the video. The video earned a $500 prize from the Internet Safety for Kids & Family program sponsored by Trend Micro, an international computer security company with U.S. offices in California. The program’s “What’s Your Story” video contest challenges youths to make positive choices. The video produced by the MSUM students won in the “using a mobile phone wisely” category. The video can be seen at Trend Micro’s “What’s Your Story?” website.
MSU Moorhead Theatre Arts major Caroline Stommes was selected to participate in the highly selective summer program with the British American Drama Academy (BADA) this past summer. BADA was founded in 1983 to enable students from across the world to study classical theatre with leading actors and directors of the British and American theatre, and its programs are based on its unique and very close relationship with leading practitioners of the theatre. The Dean of the Program is Ian Wooldridge, former Artistic Director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company, Edinburgh. BADA teachers have included many of Britain’s most distinguished actors and directors. Sir Derek Jacobi is the Academy’s Patron, and those who have participated in BADA’s programs include: Simon Callow, Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company and star of many films; Brian Cox, leading actor of the Royal National Theatre; Jeremy Irons, leading stage actor and star of the movies Damage and Reversal of Fortune; Fiona Shaw, leading actress of the Royal National Theatre; Miriam Margoyles, one of Britain’s leading character actors; Katie Mitchell, Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company; and Henry Goodman, leading actor for the Royal National Theatre.
Matthew Englund, Theatre Arts Major
Sean Palmer, Theatre Arts Graduate
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