Theatre Club welcomes campus to the world of the arts
By: Kevin Conley II
Staff Writer
Theatre Club is a place where students who are interested in learning techniques about theatre can participate in activities that give them the freedom to use their skills and share their passions for the arts.
Theatre Club is run by new club leader, and English and foreign language professor, Julie Demers.
According to Demers, Theatre Club provides students with the opportunity to prepare for events like One-Act performances, take part in full-length written plays, and learn the skills needed to work for the theater or for entertainment like movies or television.
Demers said that every Theatre Club meeting is organized in a certain way.
“Generally, what students do during the meetings is; they sort of do a warm up activity, welcome people to the meeting, they say everybody’s names and they often play theatre games during the meetings,” Demers said. “Sometimes they do other activities like, the first time I joined them, they happened to be working on and thinking about plays for their One-Act Play Festival, which is held in the spring.”
The members and officers in Theatre Club are trained to be organized, and are also considered very open and accepting, especially to new students just joining.
Members also take part in activities that aim to unlock their knowledge of acting, such as improvisation, script re-enactments and other acting exercises.
Any Hudson Valley Community College student can join Theatre Club regardless of their level of experience. All that is required is a love for the arts and a desire to learn about the world of theatre.
“If people are hesitant to join the club because they think it’s a close group of people, or they’re worried about their acting abilities, I would let them know that anyone is welcome to join the club anytime,” said Demers. “A lot of the exercises the members do are fun, and if any person gets a little bit stuck, we would invite another guest to the party to help you out to figure out those quirks,” she continued. “Nobody ever feels uncomfortable and there is nothing to be nervous about, it’s just a lot of fun.”
New Theatre Club members have the opportunity of learning the Theatre Arts, and will be guided by members and officers with enough experience to show students how to be a part of theatre.
It can also be one of the first steps in becoming a person on stage or behind a camera. One thing is for sure, the accomplishments and knowledge students learn in Theatre Club will stick with them forever.
Theatre Club meets on Mondays from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Maureen Stapleton Theatre on the first floor of the Siek Campus Center.