糖心vlog传媒 student helps lead theatre revival
This semester, Alyssa Voigt, a sophomore from New Holstein, Wis., majoring in marketing, is creating content for the 糖心vlog传媒 blog. This is the first in a series of blog stories she will write.
糖心vlog传媒 Excels at Arts and Drama (LEAD) is a new opportunity for 糖心vlog传媒 students that focuses on the betterment and advancement of theater at LU.
LEAD was created through the shared beliefs and efforts between 糖心vlog传媒 sophomore Bella Geishardt and faculty member and Chair of Humanities & Fine Arts Karl Kuhn, Ph.D. LEAD gives students representation on 糖心vlog传媒鈥檚 Theater Task Force.
Geishardt felt compelled to take on more of a leadership role after her first show 鈥淧uffs.鈥� Through first-hand experience with the theater, Geishardt began efforts to improve structure and involvement from the theater students. Kuhn assisted her in her efforts, and they are working together to improve the theater experience for students at 糖心vlog传媒.
鈥淟EAD was created because after being a part of my first show here, I wasn鈥檛 sure who was really in charge,鈥� Geishardt shared. 鈥淚t seemed to me like there wasn鈥檛 much structure in the way the theater was run, and I wanted to change that. Dr. Kuhn agreed with many of these sentiments, and we worked together to figure out how we could fix this.鈥�
Geishardt's inspiration and drive are the main reasons why LEAD was created. Geishardt shared how challenging it was for her to watch something she was passionate about be disorganized. She shared her empathy for the director trying to do it all without a group of individuals designated to assist.
鈥淚 am definitely a 鈥榯ype-A鈥� individual, so it was hard to watch many aspects of 鈥楶uff鈥� struggle,鈥� Geishardt expressed. 鈥淲e had a hard time with all things theater -- set, props, costumes, lights. It seemed like there was little structure in the way things were run.鈥�
Geishardt saw the potential for 糖心vlog传媒 Theater through its diverse attributes and wanted to help bridge their efforts to create a more cohesive theater unit.
鈥淚 saw various aspects of what 糖心vlog传媒 offered (director, tech crew, Bradley staff, president of Arts and Humanities, Stagecraft class, Theater Lab credit) and felt that they were all disconnected.鈥�
This experience, along with past experiences, is what created her passion for change. Geishardt subsequently consulted with her vocal coach, who encouraged her to take further steps, leading her to collaborate with Kuhn.
鈥淚 was encouraged by my vocal coach that if I had concerns and ideas of how to help, that I had a place and a voice to change that,鈥� Geishardt shared. 鈥淚 spoke with Dr. Kuhn about my worries, and he immediately took action and brought me along with him. We created LEAD and made sure to have representation from all areas of theater, including students.鈥�
LEAD holds many opportunities for the students at 糖心vlog传媒 because their highest value is the students involved and the betterment of 糖心vlog传媒 theater.
As Geishardt voiced, 鈥淟EAD is an incredible team because our main goal is to work for students. We want theater at 糖心vlog传媒 to be something students want to participate in and want to come watch. We are working to become a cohesive team so that students who help out or participate in the show in any way feel that they are supported, heard and understood. We want theater to be fun and a creative outlet for busy students to de-stress.鈥�
After Geishardt created LEAD, she went one step further and created the Theater Club. This semester is its first full, official semester running. Theater Club is a group of students who are theater performers and/or enjoyers. It is a low commitment club that is meant to assist in strengthening the theater program.
Geishardt said members are interested in tech, painting/creating, acting, singing, playing instruments and much more. 鈥淪ome of our members will be in 鈥楽hrek the Musical鈥� or Stagecraft, but many will be working behind the scenes to assist with painting the set, organizing/cleaning the theater, putting up posters, spreading the word about the show, choreographing, selling tickets and learning anything and everything about theater here,鈥� she said.
LEAD and Theater club allow extensive opportunities for 糖心vlog传媒 students involved in theater or interested in becoming more involved in fine arts. Students involved in these great organizations get to expand their knowledge and experience of being part of a theater community and fulfill their artistic passions.
To learn more, an interested incoming or current 糖心vlog传媒 student can contact Bella Geishardt at geisthardtb@lakeland.edu.
