A place for everyone in the UI act
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Like many beginning students, Emily Larson said she was nervous about attending a big university and getting involved when she first came to the UI in 2006.
“Especially as a freshman theater major, I thought the opportunities were going to be limited and that I was going to be closed out,” she said. “But I realized that you just have to have the courage to ask.”
Now a senior, she was directing shows by her second semester in the UI theater department.
“I thought Iowa was going to be this sort of nebulous public university,” she said. “But the theater department is about the size of my high school, so it was a family within itself.”
Acting in
Opportunities for involvement begin right away. Preliminary auditions for fall productions are held during the first week of classes.
“[The theater department] is different in one big way, in that we do so many new plays,” said Alan MacVey, the director of the Division of Performing Arts and the theater department head. “Of the 25 plays that we do, probably 15 are new plays by students. There’s probably not any other place like that in the country.”
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Roles are not reserved; everyone who tries out has an equal shot at any part, including non-majors and even non-students, who may also serve as crew members or work backstage.
“When we cast the shows, we take care that the parts are spread around,” MacVey said. “It used to be that one person might have five or six roles in a single year. We don’t do that anymore. Basically, nobody gets more than two roles a year.”
A superb secret
The theater department offers Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Fine Arts degrees in acting, directing, design, playwriting, dramaturgy, and stage management.
“This program is one of the best in the country,” said John Cameron, the head of the department’s acting division. “A lot of Iowans don’t know that. Iowa has one of the foremost playwriting programs and a high-ranking acting program.”
2009-10 UI theater department Mainstage Schedule
October: The Book of Liz, by David and Amy Sedaris
November: Reefer Madness, by Kevin Murphy & Dan Studney
February: Eye Piece, by Rinde Eckert
March: Eurydice, by Sarah Ruhl
April: Mad Woman of Chaillot, by Jean Giraudoux
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