We Don't Have Time but We'll Do it Anyway

Putting on Theatre takes a great deal of time, and requires a commitment that's close to being absolute. The performance date is set, and absolutely everyone has to be ready. It might seem, therefore, that theatre isn't something students in programs like mine can do: programs like Engineering, Meds, Architects, and other professional faculties where students have to work into the night and have very little free time. Two commitments that are close to absolute have to be one too many.

It might seem that way, but it isn't.

I've been involved in Theatre for many years, and when I came here, I missed it dearly. A close friend in my program was feeling the same way. One evening we were commiserating together about the lack of theatre in our lives. "Wouldn't it be great if ...": that kind of thing. Next thing I know, he says, "I figured it out, and I have a plan."

The trick would be to schedule all the rehearsals and other activities around our own timetable. Other people who got involved were going to have to fit in with that. We planned how it would all work, got another student involved, and we decided that yes, we really can do this. We turned ourselves into a triumvirate to get it done. We had auditions, found people to do all the backstage stuff like costumes and makeup, and applied to the Student Association for funding. What fun it was to do this again. Our first production was modest, involving just eight of us, but we got such a good response that we decided to expand into a more ambitious production, with more people involved and a bigger budget. Still, though, everything had to fit in with the triumvirate's academic commitments. It's a logistical challenge, involving late nights and early mornings, and weekends, but no-one complains.

Our target audience is busy students, and we do plays that people in our situation can relate to. The one we're doing now involves a group of kids in their twenties who haven't done much since High School. One night, one of their friends appears who has done something with his life: he's a rock star back in town on tour. He stops by to hang out with them, but the contrast between his success and the lives the others are living makes for a really interesting and volatile situation. It brings out peoples' fears about what is or is not happening in their lives, so it relates to the dread that shadows many students here, that they'll just go home after graduation to live on their parents' couch. It’s about the fear of going out into their real world after the insulation of growing up. The fact that some contemporaries might be having great successes in their lives just makes things worse.

One surprise we're all agreed upon is that the drama is another opportunity to 'think outside the box'. I believe students underestimate how multidisciplinary the world is, and the majority of people who succeed in creative professions don't just have one incredibly strong interest, they have several, and those passions interact constructively with each other. There are times during a rehearsal of a Harold Pinter play that I'd find myself thinking about the unconventional structure of the play, and suddenly I'm thinking about innovative ways to change the structure of my architectural design. Notes on acting also become general notes on presentation; how to be engaging and interesting to your audience. The process of writing a play is surprisingly similar to the design work we do in the Program. The list goes on. Anyway, it's more than an escape for us, it’s another pool to draw inspiration from.

One thing we pride ourselves on is that over half our audience is not related to the University. Given that we direct our productions to people in situations like ours, it may seem odd that it turns out that way. It's a good feeling though that so many people from the city want to come and watch us perform.

Our original triumvirate is very proud of the vibrant and successful organization that resulted from our original modest efforts. Best of all, it hasn't had any negative impact at all on the work we do in our University program -- quite the opposite in fact. As I've explained, the skills and insights we get from doing the productions turn out to actually enrich our work in the Program, and we return each day to our Faculty with renewed enthusiasm that comes from having a short but complete break from it.