Many Mumblings With Makayla

Here at ONU, we have a fraternity called TAP, or Theta Alpha Phi, for those involved in the theatre department. TAP events help fund the New York trip the seniors take at the end of the year to audition for casting directors. I was inducted last year as the only freshman because of the amount of credits I came in with. The actual induction ceremony was...strange to say the least, but definitely a lot of fun.  Since then, we've hosted some fun events like themed cabarets where students sign up with a song they want to sing that fits the theme. It's all meant to be fun and we've gotten to see some pretty entertaining performances. We also sell flowers for the family members and friends of students involved in the shows we put on to buy. You can choose to buy them one or two flowers and write them a nice note that we deliver straight to them backstage. Usually we try to host events for the entire ONU community to attend or participate in, but this year has been extremely hard ...

This last weekend I racked up 17 hours of work in our scene shop for the theatre department. I know that doesn't seem like a lot, but for someone who can only work 4 hours a week because of school, it is a great amount of hours. The scene shop is where we build the sets for the shows we put on here at ONU. We do everything from building the sets and painting them, to hanging and focusing the lights where they're needed on the light plots and running cables for sound. Basically anything besides costuming (they have their own shop) that is necessary for the shows to be ready to go on stage happen in the scene shop.  We also set up and run any events that go on in the Freed Center, like Orange and Black Day, music events and lectures.  I've worked in the scene shop for almost 2 years now and have learned so much about scenery and the technical aspects of theatre. I can confidently say that I know how to work most of the tools we have, which I didn't really think was possib...

As most people know, LinkedIn is not a very valuable platform for those in the performing and visual arts and only really works for people who go into careers such as business or STEM. However, there are aspects of LinkedIn that can be utilized in a way that does work for us Theatre folk.  Networking Opportunities LinkedIn allows artists to connect with other creatives, directors, producers, curators, gallery owners and professionals across the performing and visual arts industries. It can be difficult to make those connections off of only LinkedIn, but it is possible! It's a platform made for discovering and reaching out to potential collaborators, whether that means partnering on projects, performances, exhibitions or commissions. LinkedIn can be a direct line to institutions or companies in the arts world. It helps artists build relationships with galleries, production houses, museums and performance venues, who may be scouting for new talent or collaborations. Many ev...

Don't be thrown off by the title because I'm a little bit of a dummy too when it comes to Shakespeare. This year is the first time I am taking a deep-dive into his works. I am currently taking Acting III: Shakespeare, which is all about...well, Shakespeare. I started off deciding I didn't like it because I just didn't understand it very much, but now that I've taken the time to explore the language and characters, I can confidently say I like it a lot more than before.  In class, I've been studying the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" the most because I was assigned a soliloquy from it and did intensive work on the character I was playing, Helena, and the play itself.  I also have been cast in the Fall Shakespeare play, "As You Like It" so I will continue on my learning journey next semester. Okay, here's the fun part. I'm gonna give you all a crash course on Shakespeare's plays and who he was. William Shakespeare was born Apr...

This semester I am taking a directing class where I will learn how to, well, direct! Directing is a passion of mine that I have yet to explore until now. In this class we will start small by working on scenes from the play, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. This classic play has so much to offer a director because of how well-written the characters and the story are. We were each given scenes that are about four pages long and will get to block them however we wish to. This gives me lots of room to play around with and I get to create a story that is mine.  Our main task for this first showing is for us to clearly display the "spine" of our scene, meaning the overall message or meaning of the play. The spine I chose was the characters' want to find peace and freedom within themselves. In the story, each character wants the same thing, peace from the obstacles that weigh them down. Yet they cannot release the burdens they carry to fully commit to obtaining that pe...

Ladies and gentlemen we are finally coming up on our tech week for our show, Machinal, and like always, it will be a tough one.  For those of you who don't know, tech week in theatre is the MOST stressful week of a rehearsal process. It's when the acting combines with the technical side of theatre such as: lighting, sound, set design, costumes, etc. When all of these elements come together, we have a performance. This is our final week of rehearsal before we are catapulted into the chaos and will be taking the stage on Thursday, February 20th. The schedules for tech weeks usually look the same for most shows, following a format of long hours spent doing spacing rehearsals, cue to cues, and dress rehearsals. Our schedule looks no different.  Spacing rehearsals are pretty straight-forward. This is when the cast rehearses on the stage they'll be performing on. It's especially important for the actors because they need to be able to translate everything they've built u...

I have officially made my second podcast! It was such a fun experience, and I had an incredible guest join me to discuss how to run a professional social media account that promotes a theatre company's season. Madi Schenk, a junior musical theatre major with a minor in multimedia production, shared her insights into the role of a social media manager. Madi has experience as a social media manager for the Marion Theatre in Marion, Ohio, where she worked over the past summer. Her tasks included designing posters and playbills, making cast announcements, and capturing video and photo content during rehearsals for social media. Madi spoke about how the design aspect of her job may not seem directly related to social media, but it’s a valuable skill. She emphasized that design skills can be used to create eye-catching posts. She also stressed the importance of staying active on personal social media accounts to keep up with trends and relevancy. Her personal strategy involved scrolling ...