Bradley was recognized as one of the most “underrated theater colleges” in August according to the national theater blog Onstage.
Most notably, Bradley was listed as having a program that not only teaches stage performance, but also back-stage production and design.
“What we lack in size we offer in very close contact with students,” Scott Kanoff, interim chairperson of the department of theater arts, said. “It’s the personal instruction. Our students can do independent studies in virtually any area that interests them.”
On top of an extensive array of acting and production classes, the department also offers seminars about finding apartments, jobs and other real-life applications.
“One of the things we’re particularly good at is preparing students for the world after graduation,” Kanoff said. “Our students have two courses: there’s a junior seminar, and there’s a senior seminar. [The seminars are] about where you’re going to live, how you decide where you’re going to live, how do you make a budget, how do you do your finances, how do you find an apartment, how do you find a day job, where do you look and how do you begin to establish yourself in a theater community.”
While the theater major itself is relatively small compared to others on campus, the student voices of the department make up for that.
“The theater department offers wonderful opportunities for entertainment and skill-learning for the entire campus,” junior theater arts and English major Ryan Mitacek said. “From Barbeque Kitten [improv] to our student-run Ministry of Experimental Theater, to open auditions [for] main stage shows, the theater department is always extending a warm hand to the entire rest of the campus.”
As for students looking to be involved in plays and production, Kanoff said it is very easy to find opportunities.
“We also make it very easy for students who aren’t [theater] majors to get involved,” Kanoff said. “We have our majors and minors take practicum classes, but often other students come and take a practicum class for a semester, and they’ll work on lighting with us. It’s another way to have something to do and get involved with theater without being a major or having a huge time commitment.”
Mitacek said the theater department represents many individuals on campus.
“The work that we do attempts to reflect the culture of the campus in a way that I don’t think you see in many other departments,” Mitacek said.
The theater department will be performing the comedy “High Fidelity” for its fall musical, and the show will run from Oct. 22 to Nov. 1.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Kanoff said. “Rock ’n’ roll musicals do very well. I’m very excited about it.”
