Theatre Resources
The production programs of the department offer numerous co- and extra-curricular opportunities for all students in the college. It is our vision that through engagement with vital theatre experiences all of our students will seek to thrive as active audience members for the rest of their lives - contributing to, and therefore affecting, the broader culture in which we live.
Theatre can play a role in a culture or community's understanding of themselves and others around them. Producing theatre which is vital in a community requires exploring topics and presenting works that attempt to be truthful or seek truth - for some, many, or all of us. We certainly do not select content intending to offend, yet we acknowledge that the topic of drama is always humans, which we know are in a sinful condition - one that needs repair. Our characters and their circumstances are of a given, fictional situation - a part of a larger story - they are less often models for Christian living. It is our hope that each and every person in the audience be provoked intellectually and emotionally to consider their own life in response to the world of the play, and that the reflection and discussion continues beyond the theatre doors.
Students who are considering a major in theatre should realize that the program, like the field itself, demands a great commitment of both time and energy. The department is committed to providing ample opportunities for students to explore and discover their talents, develop their skills, and prepare a plan for their future - perhaps a vocation that includes a career in the performing arts, perhaps using their theatre study in other vocational situations. The academic curriculum and production program are closely intertwined for the Theatre major. In a sense, production activity (rehearsal, shop work, performances) is the laboratory for experimentation and affirmation of classroom readings, lectures, and exercises.
Rehearsals are usually 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. Technical work is usually Monday through Friday afternoons and occasional Saturdays. Students taking a full-load of classes and participating in a production are expected to maintain both high academic and artistic standards.
There is no formula for selecting plays to produce on our main stage, the Raabe Theatre. We expect that we will present plays of the following genres/types at least once every two to four years: Classical Greek/Roman or Neo-Classicism; Medieval or Renaissance; Shakespeare; Restoration, Romantic, or Melodrama; Modern Realism; Non-Realism; and an original or devised play. We do not regularly schedule a "traditional Musical" for production but will consider them on occasion. At times we may present a play that offers our theatre students an opportunity to develop their music and/or dance skills.
The activities of the Theatre Department are housed primarily in the Center for Arts and Performance on the north end of campus (main entrance off Wisconsin Avenue). The Raabe Theatre serves as the "Mainstage" of our production program. The Blackbox Studio Theatre is the principal location for our performance classes while also serving as an alternative production venue. Support areas include the Scene Shop, Costume Shop, Prop & Costume Storage, Furniture Storage, and Electrics Storage. The mezzanine level of the Center for Arts and Performance is home for the Raabe and Blackbox Studio Control booths, the Theatre Design Lab (with plotter-printer), the Department's Administrative Office, faculty offices, and the Theatre Resource Room which contains a script and periodical library, conference table and VCR-DVD-PC w/60" TV monitor.
The Marvin M. Schwann Library contains a vast number of theatre books, videos, and scripts as well as participation in TOPCAT, a Milwaukee-area library-sharing service.
The Theatre Department also utilizes digital photography and video for classes and productions.
Raabe Theatre
- Thrust Stage Configuration
- Seating Capacity - 199
- Full-access catwalk above thrust, plus additional lighting positions
- 123 distributed lighting circuits including stage floor pockets
- Grand drape, wing and upstage traveler curtains
- Off-white cyclorama
- ETC Ion lighting control system, 108 dimmers
- PC-based SCS Audio Control software, multiple speaker outlets
- Over 200 lighting fixtures, including 60 ETC Source4s
- ROBE ColorSpot 250 movable/programmable spotlight
- Greenroom, two dressing rooms and adjoining makeup room
- Audio and video monitor system
Blackbox Studio Theatre
- Open Space Configuration
- Flexible Seating Units, Capacity - 75
- Lighting grid with 48 circuits
- Sound system
- ETC Express control board and 48 dimmers
Every spring, the Theatre Department honors two graduating seniors with the following awards. These students receive a plaque, and their names are entered on the Honor Board, a perpetual display in the theatre wing signifying one of the following:
The Jan Nelson Gompper Award for Excellence in Theatre Performance is presented to a graduating theatre major who has demonstrated exemplary commitment to her/his development in the craft of acting through a professional approach in studio work, rehearsals and performances. The honoree will have exhibited self-motivation, creative risk-taking, artistic growth, and notable Christian character.
The Award for Excellence in Theatre Arts is presented to a graduating theatre major who has demonstrated and developed a voracious appetite for multiple areas of theatre knowledge and experience, a driving desire for inquiry and exploration whose contribution to activities in the classroom, studio, shop, and stage has been exemplary.
While a formal internship is not required for the Theatre major or minor, many WLC Theatre students have held internships at area theatre companies. Students may earn up to six credits which will appear on their transcript. Three credits of internship may be applied to the major's total requirement. Internship credit has also been arranged for summer theatre experiences. Specific internship opportunities are publicized to theatre students. Both the Theatre Department faculty and the WLC Career Development Office will assist students in the process.
Throughout the year there are a number of opportunities for students that are not directly curricular or related to the mainstage production program. In the performance area, these have included student-initiated performances, class showcase performances, senior showcase performances, video/film productions - both on-campus and off, and performances for chapel.
There are often opportunities for WLC Theatre students to use their talents and experience in the leadership of theatre activities for children and adolescents around the area.
At least once per semester there are educational opportunities sponsored by the department. These have included guest speakers and guest artists, professional theatre artists holding master classes, lectures and demonstrations, and alumni who are working professionally that return to "share their experiences."
Presentations have included:
2012 - Neil Curry, British poet and playwright, author of The Bending of the Bow
2013 - Antoinette McDonald & Ken Ellis, African-American Theatre History
2013 - C. Michael Wright, Artistic Director, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Audition Techniques
2014 - Marcella Kearns, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Acting in Shakespeare
2014 - Ron Scot Fry, Optimist Theatre Company, Shakespeare & Contemporary Audiences
Organizations
Association for Theatre in Higher Education
The Association for Theatre in Higher Education is an organization of individuals and institutions that provides vision and leadership for the profession and promotes excellence in theatre education. ATHE actively supports scholarship through teaching, research and practice and serves as a collective voice for its mission through its publications, conferences, advocacy, projects, and through collaborative efforts with other organizations.
Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival: Great Lakes Region
United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT)
The association of design, production and technology professionals in the performing arts and entertainment industry.
Screen Actors Guild
The Guild exists to enhance film and television actors' working conditions, compensation and benefits and to be a powerful, unified voice on behalf of artists' rights.
Actors' Equity Association
Equity negotiates wages and working conditions and provides a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans, for stage actors and stage managers.
Performing Arts Groups in the Milwaukee Area
- Marcus Center for the Performing Arts
- Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
- Milwaukee Repertory Theater
- The Pabst Theater
- Skylight Opera Theatre
- Sunset Playhouse
Chicago Theatre and Companies
ChicagoPlays.com
Your guide to live theater in Chicago. Current shows, job and audition postings, etc.
Career Advice
Actor's Equity Association
The Union of American Theatrical Actors and Stage Managers. Click on "casting call" for job listings as well as listings of upcoming auditions by region.
American Association of Community Theatre
Choose "job listings" from the "resources" menu for a nice listing of salaried jobs (and some internships) in administration, directing, education, fundraising, marketing/development and technical staff.
Backstage.com: The Complete Online Performing Arts Resource
Resource for careers in acting. Provides casting calls under "casting" and a career chat room.
Playbill On-Line
Click on "casting and jobs" for extensive listings of theatre-related postings in such categories as performer, technical, design, administrative and academic. Also provides information on shows.
Theatre Communications Group
Click on the link for ARTSEARCH and search hundreds of positions in theatres and performing arts centers, summer festivals, universities, colleges and schools, dance companies, opera companies, symphony orchestras, museums, arts councils and other arts organizations. Username and Passwords are required to access job postings.
Find a Script
Dramatists Play Services, Inc.
For nearly 70 years Dramatists Play Service, Inc. has provided the finest plays by both established writers and new playwrights of exceptional promise.
Samuel French, Inc.
Samuel French seeks out the world's best plays and makes them available to the widest range of producing groups. Sources of Samuel French's plays range from Broadway and England's West End to publication of unsolicited scripts submitted by unpublished authors
Music Theatre International
Music Theatre International is a leader in the theatrical licensing industry, specializing in Broadway, Off-Broadway and West End musicals. Since it's founding in 1952, MTI has been responsible for supplying scripts and musical materials to theatres worldwide and for protecting the rights and legacy of the authors who it represents.
Moonstruck Drama Bookstore
Plays, plot summaries, cast albums, sheet music, theatre news, and more!
Miscellaneous
Actingbiz: The Online Actor's Resource
Helpful resources including examples of what professional head shots and resumes look like, as well as links to other helpful web sites and actors services.
Eperformer.com
Good site for performing artists. Free information including audition notices, performing arts links, a great resources section, and a features section with career-related advice for those new to the performing arts profession.
Performink online
Chicago's Entertainment Trade Paper. The Art, the business, the industry.