Kiley Patterson Brings Theater To Life At HVCC

By Kevin Conley II, Staff Writer

When it comes to the stars at HVCC’s Theater Club, some may consider the actors to be the main attraction. However, the main driving force behind every performance put on comes from behind the scenes. Kiley Patterson is a sophomore student at Hudson Valley Community College and the current Secretary of the Theater Club

Patterson graduated from Bethlehem High School and is currently the Secretary of the Theatre Club. Her interest in theater spans well beyond the club at Hudson Valley. Patterson is currently pursuing a Theater Arts program at HVCC and hopes to forge a career as an actress.

 “I decided to act when I was in my junior year of high school and what prepares me most is, honestly, just taking a deep breath whenever you’re panicking. Not enough people really see the value in just breathing when getting overwhelmed. Obviously, memorization helps a lot, and just generally nailing the feeling in what your character wants to portray”, Patterson said. 

To manage Theater Club, Patterson worked on the club along with her Theater class. “All of my theatre work has been exclusively done through school work,” Patterson said. Patterson’s big break at the club came last year, when her play, “The Seagull” was performed on-campus. With the COVID-19 leaving students indoors, performing has become a much harder task. Despite this, Patterson says she and the club came up with creative ways to push forward, and are currently in the process of developing a new play.

 “We are currently thinking about having actual in-person staged events. So that is a really nice thing to hear, and we are currently having rehearsals through zoom and those are going fabulously. But to anyone who wants to see it, they should come and see it because it’s an amazing show and it’s super funny,” Patterson said.

 For those missing the theatrical experience Theater Club’s plays have to offer, Patterson says the club’s newest play may be performed towards the end of the semester. Patterson said she hopes anxiety doesn’t prevent anyone from joining.

 “Anyone who is interested in Theatre Arts should obviously do it. Get up, take a deep breath, go out, and act your heart out. I see acting as therapy more than anything and getting your actual emotions out there into the world is such a satisfying feeling and benefits people a lot to show how they are feeling”. Patterson said.

While COVID-19 has vastly changed the Theater Club as a whole, Patterson says, safety comes first. “My thoughts were that the switch to remote learning was a smart move to the colleges part, and even though it is kind of a weird situation for certain majors that need to be face to face such as theatre arts, I think it was a necessary step to take to keep everyone safe, and I still think it is”, Patterson said.