California Lutheran University’s Theatre & Dance Department is preparing for its upcoming production of Rumors, working alongside other departments on campus to collaborate.
As the program continues to grow and develop, Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance
Christine Cummings said interdisciplinary work has become a key feature of the department’s structure.
Cummings, a new professorial addition last semester and the director of this spring’s play, said including other departments is one of the best ways for students to get hands-on experience in a real-world setting.
“What I wanted to do was really start reaching out to other parts of campus to see how they might get involved when we were doing these productions,” Cummings said.
Cummings teamed up with the Visual Arts Department to create this year’s poster for the show. Visual Arts Department Chair and Assistant Professor of Art Barbara Obermeier said students spent time working on and editing designs to meet the specifications Cummings asked for.
“[Cummings] was delighted about [the partnership], so we had her come and talk to the class, tell us about the play, and they developed concepts,” Obermeier said.
Cummings worked with the group which ultimately produced multiple posters that will be featured at the entrance of the show.
“I had four meetings with them, so it was like real-world stuff that they’d be doing. I worked with them, I asked for different things, and then they kept coming back with other options for me, and then I chose our poster from that, so that was really cool,” Cummings said.
Obermeier said she enjoys working with other departments to highlight what they are doing and bring attention to the importance of the arts as well.
“We’ve done posters for the film festival, for the Film Department, we’ve done things for the Music Department, we’ve done things for Hub 101. And then one of the things that we’ve done on a pretty regular basis, a couple of times a year, are the posters for the theater,” Obermeier said.
However, it isn’t just theater and visual arts coming together to make an impact. According to Cummings, other departments have helped breed this cross-curricular education.
“We did a show last semester, ‘No Exit,’ and we connected with the Philosophy Department and the psychology professors because there were very philosophical roots to the themes of that particular play,” Cummings said.
The Multimedia Department has also created videos that can be used to advertise upcoming plays.
“Our multimedia professor, he filmed some of the actors in rehearsal and did a trailer, … a 30 second trailer, or something, that could be used for promotion,” Obermeier said.
Cummings said collaboration like this has prompted her to look into how theater education can be made more widespread for students on campus who can’t dedicate as much time to it.
“I believe that theater education in general is good for everybody. I am writing a theater minor that is specifically for non-majors,” Cummings said. “So I’m targeting business, education, psychology, communications, criminal justice. Any of those other majors could really benefit from it.”
Cummings said the things you learn through acting are skills that can be applied to almost every discipline.
“I think theater, at its very core, is the study of human nature and behavior. It encompasses everything,” Cummings said. “I also think, and I may be biased here, everybody, if you want to have a career where you are speaking to, or listening to, or working with other human beings in any way, everyone should take an intro to acting class.”
Cummings said the interdisciplinary work being done across departments is very representative of Lutheran higher education and liberal studies, designed for students to receive a well-balanced education.
“It was really nice to do that because I don’t think the school really does that enough,” Obermeier said. “Everybody kind of does their own thing, but when you can reach across departments and the students get that experience of working with other professors and other students and stuff, it can be a lot of fun and everybody kind of gains from it.”
Cummings said she will continue to look to include any and all groups who want to come together and combine skills for the sake of bettering each other’s departments.
“One of the most important things, I think, about theater as an art form is that you cannot do it alone and that gives you these wonderful opportunities for audience engagement and, you know, cross-campus and cross-curricular collaboration,” Cummings said.
Rumors opens this Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. and runs through Sunday in the Preus-Brandt Forum.
