Perspective | Newfound admiration for theater
Editorial: As featured in volume 112, issue 6 of The Collegian.
Ahead of my senior year, I knew it was going to be brutal — to say the least. Having just completed a pair of summer courses at SMU (including statistics, which I can assure you was not taken by choice), I was slated for 18.5 credit hours worth of courses. This is half an hour over the limit for full-time students.
However, the load itself wasn’t what irked me about my final fall semester at North Newton. Instead, it was what the 18.5-hour schedule consisted of. Theater Practicum and Theater Production and Direction didn’t necessarily have a kid coming from a sports-crazy family chomping at the bit to return in early August, to say the least.
But dive head first into the new experience I did. As a requirement for Theater Practicum, I served on the crew for the school’s Fall Fest production of The Addams Family and was given the opportunity to direct (and eventually act in) a one-act play. To put it bluntly, I surprised myself in thoroughly enjoying the process and work that goes into a production.
When people asked me how the direction of my one-act was going, I immediately likened it to my role as a student assistant coach for the Bethel football program. Because at the end of the day, there are many more similarities than differences between the two: you’re leading a group of people, helping them develop their skills, and striving to achieve a common goal.
Being able to work closely with Director of Theater Damon Klassen and the talented students in the theater program for The Addams Family showed me that the attention to detail and mental fortitude required to put on a polished musical is nothing short of admirable.
With all of that being said, there is no doubt in my mind that I will leave Bethel with not only a new appreciation for theater, but a new immense respect for the craft.