Project Title:
Mesabi Range Theatre Internship Project
Project Director and Other Associated Faculty and Staff:
Kristi Sutton Ongalo, English Instructor, Mesabi Range Community and Technical College, Contact: k.sutton@mr.mnscu.edu, Tel.: (218)749-7759
Project Design:
Mesabi Range Community and Technical College (MRCTC) has not been able to sponsor a theater production in ten years in spite of fact the theater courses are full and there is student interest. This project used CTL funds to hire a Theater Intern to direct and produce plays. The play served an active learning function by including students from the theater classes in acting roles and as technical production staff and to involve the Theater Intern into discussions of theater production into the theater courses.
Project Evaluation and Outcomes:
A Theater Intern was hired (a graduate theater student from Univ. of Wisconsin-Superior) and during 2004-05 year, Fall and Spring plays were produced. “The Foreigner” was produced in November, 2004 and “Folktales” was produced in February, 2005. Students in the theater classes were given preference in casting of actors and serving in production and promotion. These students wrote a journal which supported the learning component of the project and indicated that they did benefit from this experience. After the first production, enrollment in theater classes increased and participation in on-campus theater activities grew. During Spring semester, students expressed interest in a field trip to attend a theater production and so students visited UMD’s theater department.
Lessons Learned, Dissemination and Sustainability
The project director was pleased with the success of the theater productions. Good first year ticket sales were an indicator of success. The project proved there is active interest in seeing live productions and that students learned a great deal from pairing live productions with classroom instruction. As a result, the administration of MRCTC has made a commitment to sustain this program by agreeing to assign seven credits of instruction to a director for each production in Fall and Spring semesters. A theater committee has been formed and they are actively seeking funds to support future productions and upgrade the theater. Finally the MRCTC marketing program has agreed to take on the task of marketing future productions of the theater program.
