A new black-box-style theatre in the lower Campus Center was completed in the fall of 2016. The FLEX Theatre provides a state-ofthe-art theatre space with improved sound, lighting, and projection systems as well as far greater flexibility in design and stage layout catered to each production. On the one-year anniversary of the Old North Theatre Farewell event, Carroll Magazine sat down with Kimberly Shire, Director of Theatrical Production at Carroll College, to discuss the program’s first season in the new space.
How does the new space expand opportunities for students at Carroll College?
The first and most important thing is that it gives them a place to learn industry-standard practice. In the new space they’re using equipment that is more like what they’re going to find in a community, regional or professional theatre. In fact, we’re a little bit ahead of theatre technology. Our consultant said this was the first dimmerless system he’d ever put together. In 10 or 20 years, that’s all there’s going to be [in the industry], and our students are ready for that. I also think the black box experience is the best way for an actor to get started. Giving our actors the opportunity to act in the round and in other configurations gives them different experiences with the audience.
How were you involved in the process of conceptualizing, designing, and building the new theatre space?
We feel very fortunate that we were included in the whole process. When Tom McCarvel started talking to us about our dreams [for the new theatre], he took us seriously and hired Jason DeCunzo to design the space. Jason came and spent time in the space then put together a design that would meet our needs and be budget-conscious as well. In the old space, most of our equipment was 40- or 50-years-old. We had a sound system that wasn’t specifically designed for a theatre, so [the committee] really listened when we asked to update the equipment.
How does the name FLEX Theatre reflect both the space and its role on campus?
I think calling something a black box theatre is not necessarily a term that means anything to people if they’re outside the theatre world. FLEX talks about the fact that the space is really designed to be moveable. It’s designed to be different every time you walk in.
I’m interested in creating bridges between other departments and the theatre department. We have this lovely classroom space down here that’s great for a seminar of 10-16 students, and I want teachers to use that space. I loved walking in there and seeing so many students in there for the SURF (Student Undergraduate Research Festival) presentations in the FLEX. It’s in the Campus Center, it’s right at the heart of where we are. We want it to serve the greater community.
The 2016-2017 academic year was the first the FLEX theater has been in use. What has been the student reaction to the space so far?
[In the old space] we’d wrap up rehearsal and then everyone would split. But here, we hang out and talk. It just feels comfortable. I don’t hear students say, “I miss the old theatre.” Every time I walk down into the green room, there are students in there studying. There are students practicing cello in the theatre. There are people in the classroom writing all over the white board and studying in there. It’s become a real community space, not just for our majors and minors but for the periphery students who feel like theatre is their home too.
At Carroll, non-theatre majors and minors are encouraged to participate in productions. How does it enrich the Carroll theatre student’s experience?
I’ve always wanted to work in a theatre like this where there’s always room for people to discover the theatre. Last year we had 65 students involved in one way or another in at least one show, and at the end of the year we had five majors and 14 minors. So, more than half of the people who were involved were people from all over the campus, from nursing to engineering to health sciences. They love to come in and be part of the family. There is a lot of retraining that has to happen with every show, but I don’t think repetition is bad for the majors and minors. We’re working hard to foster an inclusive environment—it’s the kind of theatre I want.
What would you tell a student who is considering getting involved in theatre at Carroll?
“Come on over!” We have students come who’ve never done [theatre] before at every production. This year we had two seniors who were outside the department get involved for the first time. Both of them tried really hard to get a theatre minor in because they discovered it too late. Every year, that’s the story. I get students who come in that say “I wish that I had discovered this my freshman year. I wish that I had been brave enough to come right at the beginning.”
What are the current priorities for the Carroll Theatre Department?
We are working hard on recruitment, building on the success we’ve had the last couple of years, taking advantage of the new facility and trying to find ways to make my students marketable in the world. Theatre for a long time at Carroll has been a retention major. Currently we have a lot of double majors, students who are majoring in something else and theatre. I would like students to come here for theatre.
We are also in the process of putting together a simulated patient program as an interdisciplinary program with the Nursing Department, where theatre students will act out patient scenarios to nursing students, who will then build a plan of action. There’s research out there that tells us how [simulated patients] help the nursing student or the medical student, but not really anything about how it helps the actor be better in the moment on stage, how it helps them to be more real in their characters. Improvising within a very strict boundary helps them both within improv and scripted work. I’ve discovered how critical this interdisciplinary link is. It turns a switch on for students.
When this issue of Carroll Magazine goes to print, you’ll be gearing up for the 2017-2018 semester. What are you looking forward to this academic year?
I’m excited to come back this fall and already have the theatre in place. I’m looking forward to a season that has some meaning to it. Our season is centered around this concept that we as a people are one, that people who have opposing viewpoints aren’t our enemy, and trying to find joy in the diversity of who we are as people. We’re starting with Harvey, then we’re digging into hearing the stories of underrepresented people by producing works written by women called She Persisted, then The Laramie Project, and ending with The Little Mermaid. I’ve never crafted a season this way before, it’s really exciting. I’m proud of what we’re doing