by Colleen Casner | Mar 2, 2015 | News Slider
Months of hard work will soon pay off for students involved in Lipscomb’s 52nd annual Singarama, which opens this Thursday in Collins Alumni Auditorium. This year’s Singarama production is Ready, Set, Go! featuring groups led by student directors Anne Claire Smith, Carolanne Deaton and John Alex Foster. This year’s hosts and hostesses are Delaney Brown, David Austin Lowery, Michael Oruma, Caitlin Phelps, Tyler Russell and McKenna Smith. Aaron Sain is the host and hostesses director. “Go” is the story of a window washer who wants to enter the world of business. It features songs such as “Status Quo” from High School Musical, “Mirrors” by Justin Timberlake and “You Can Go Your Own Way.” Clubs participating in “Go” include Delta Omega, Delta Sigma, Kappa Chi, Sigma Omega Sigma and Tau Phi. Delta Sigma member Laney Overton has especially enjoyed bonding with students from other social clubs. “Being in a social club you sometimes are confined to your social club, and Singarama’s a really great opportunity to branch out and meet new people from other clubs,” Overton said. Students have been working on their shows since January, often practicing five days each week. Frequent practices do not bother Singarama first-timer Tiffany Best, though. “Whenever I’m stressed or busy or upset I can just take my mind off of it and sing my heart out,” Best said. Anna Grace Wolfe of Delta Sigma has also enjoyed the practices but is especially enthusiastic about taking the stage at Singarama for the first time. “I’m excited to be on stage and the moment where we first walk onto the stage,” Wolfe said. Overton, who participated last year, is looking forward...
by Jamin Craig | Feb 14, 2015 | News Slider
Colorful lighting and the whimsical set brought Lipscomb theater’s Seussical to life this weekend in Collins Alumni Auditorium. The production design team created an instantly recognizable world on stage while keeping technical elements from interfering with the performance of the cast. Andy Bleiler, set designer and technical director, said that he really wanted the set to stay faithful to the source material, so he based the set off of Dr. Seuss’ “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” “The colors that we chose were really based on the ‘Oh, the Places You’ll Go!’ book,” Bleiler said. “If you look at the cover of that book and you look at the set, you’ll see they’re really, really close.” Bleiler intentionally chose muted colors so that the set would not clash with other visual elements of the show. “One of the intentions was to have the set be sort of a lighter version [of the ‘Oh, the Places You’ll Go’ colors], and that way the colors of the costumes, which are in a similar palette, could pop off of that,” Bleiler said. The set is built in two levels. The stage floor is the first level, and the second is a large stairway that goes across the back of the stage, forming a large arch. That stairway is covered with many colorful, arched doorways to add the classic Dr. Seuss touch. The stairway takes up a small amount of the stage, allowing the cast to have more room for acting and dancing. David Hardy, assistant professor of theater and lighting designer, had the challenge of lighting the already colorful stage. “Ironically, the intent was to keep it...
by Ellen Butterfield | Jan 25, 2015 | News Slider
After spending much of January at Belmont University, The Nashville Shakespeare Festival’s tour of “Twelfth Night” will arrive at Lipscomb’s Willard Collins Alumni Auditorium this week. Shakespeare can frighten off modern audiences due to the confusing diction and seemingly out-of-date expressions. “Don’t be intimidated by the language,” said “Twelfth Night” cast member and Lipscomb senior Austin Hunt. Hunt is urging fellow students to give the play a try when it opens. “Show up and watch the show. Pay attention to what we’re saying, but pay attention to what we’re doing, too. We will tell the story to you through our actions and our physicality.” The production was written by William Shakespeare as a celebration for the 12 days of Christmas, but it is also an entertaining blend of comedy and romance infused with song. In “Twelfth Night,” a shipwreck occurs that forces a young girl named Viola to believe her twin brother has died. She then dresses up as him and takes a job with Duke Orcino, who loves Olivia. While disguised as a boy, Viola is sent by the Duke to woo Olivia for him. Olivia falls in love with Viola as a boy instead of the Duke. Twelfth Night speaks comedically about the power and problems of love. Hunt portrays Curio, a manservant to the duke. He has studied with The Nashville Shakespeare Festival since 2013, and he is proud to point out that to best enjoy Shakespeare’s writings, a visit to a live performance is necessary. “Shakespeare was never meant to be read,” Hunt said. “Shakespeare was meant to be performed and watched.” The challenge for Hunt is understanding...
by Jamin Craig | Jan 15, 2015 | News Slider
Lipscomb’s theatre department is quickly crafting its next main-stage show, bringing the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss to the Collins stage with Seussical. The story, guided by the Cat in the Hat, takes much of its plot from Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who. Deep in the jungle of Nool, an elephant named Horton stumbles across the city of Whoville located on a speck of dust. Most of the animals in the jungle think he is crazy, and many conflicts unfold as Horton and the Whos try to convince the Jungle of Nool that Whoville really exists. The story is about friendship, acceptance and sticking to your word during hard circumstances. Kari Smith, an adjunct theatre and dance professor, is directing and choreographing the show. She explained that this production has much less rehearsal time than an average show for Lipscomb. “It’s five and a half weeks” Smith said. “For professional actors, that’s plenty, but we’re talking about students who have to go to school all day, get their homework done, have time to breathe and then go to rehearsal. It’s going to be quick, but I have a great cast. They’re all super committed and so great to work with.” The cast and crew might be made up of students only, but they are excited for the challenge. Elijah Wallace, a junior theatre major from Montgomery, Alabama, will be playing the role of Horton the elephant. In middle school, Wallace played the Cat in the Hat in a previous production of Seussical, but he says he has always wanted to play Horton. “I resonate a lot with what Horton believes and...
by Jamin Craig | Oct 17, 2014 | News Slider
Two infamous gangs are squaring off on Collins Alumni Auditorium stage on Halloween weekend. No, these gangs are not real, but they are part of the iconic musical phenomenon known at West Side Story. The musical, inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, tells the story of two star-crossed lovers,Tony and Maria. The two meet at a dance and immediately fall in love, but they quickly realize they have to keep their relationship secret since they come from rivaling groups of people. The setting is the West Side of New York City. The two groups are gangs; the Sharks, a feisty group of Puerto Ricans that are friends of Maria, and the Jets, the tough group of New Yorkers that Tony aligns himself with. Mike Fernandez, the dean of the new College of Entertainment & the Arts, is directing the show. He said that West Side Story presents new opportunities for those involved. “We were really aching for a strong, gritty musical that had some great dance to it,” Fernandez said. “We certainly had done shows before that explored dance, but we really wanted something that would push us in terms of dance capability. We also felt like we wanted to push ourselves musically, and so how better to do that than with West Side Story?” Tyler Russell, a senior theatre major, will be playing the role of Tony. Russell said he is ecstatic that he gets to play such an iconic role. But, to Russell, playing Tony has not come without its challenges. “Physically, emotionally and vocally, Tony is the most difficult role I have ever played,” Russell said. “So...
