Photo by Rose Cohen ’22
The College recently opened a new space dedicated to the merging of the film and theatre arts departments.
BY EMMA RUBIN ’20
Room 222 of the Art Building has a nearly panoramic view of campus. It overlooks the greenhouse, the Willits- Hallowell Conference Center and Lower Lake. But, when its window curtains are closed, students can manipulate the space’s lighting and sound. Theatre students can practice lighting design, film students can use the space’s audiovisual equipment and actors can practice complex stagework on the springboard floor. The studio can even be used as a small performance space. The open- ing of Art 222 is one of the first steps in the larger process of merging the Film Studies and Theatre Arts departments into one: Film, Media and Theatre.
“Our vision for the department is one for film and theatre that is more production-oriented and that has a streamlined curriculum,” Chair of Theatre Arts Amy Rodgers said. “Thinking about what are the kinds of work our students want to do, what are they interested in and how do we help them think about what it means to be creators of theatre, film and media productions.”
The merging of the two departments to create one new major has been unofficially in the making for several years. A 2012 internal review of the film studies department found limited production space for students, and in 2014, faculty expressed concerns about how theatre fits into the college curriculum beyond productions.
Dean of Faculty Jon Western facilitated discussions between faculty members in creative and performing arts disciplines. That was when leaders of the film studies department and theatre arts saw how their departments could connect.
“We started to see this circle of faculty coming together with shared interests,” Chair of Film Studies Robin Blaetz previously told the Mount Holyoke News. “We spent two years ... meeting with this big group of faculty about how we might collaborate.”
The new major, which was tentatively announced in the spring of 2019, is entering its final stages as it prepares to become an official department in Fall 2020. Production budgets for the respective departments, even after the merger, will be kept separate. Though there won’t be official concentrations, Rodgers said that requirements will be pliable to fit students’ interests.
For students interested in film there will be more movie-making opportunities including new equipment, narrative and technique-focused film courses and opportunities to collaborate with actors. Two new film studies professors will join the College.
Conversely, in theatre, two specialized-production staff (in lighting and stagecraft) who teach one course per semester and have responsibilities within Rooke Theatre will have their jobs merged into one full-time position.
“That’s probably one of the biggest losses for the theatre department in terms of the merger,” said Zoe Fieldman ’22, a theatre arts major.
The current programming for the theatre department of two productions per semester will be cut back to one, with an additional senior showcase in the fall and a film festival in the spring. Fieldman is worried about having less opportunities for theatre majors to participate in plays with the shift.
“We’re keeping our production bud- gets separate,” they said. “I don’t understand why we need to cut our production in half.”
Rodgers said that although there will be less department-sponsored plays, she hopes that will open more opportunities for student-led productions.
Rodgers remembered a previous student whose thesis was an original play the student wrote and oversaw the production of. The satirical science fiction play recruited fellow students as actors, a sound designer, a lighting designer and a director, but the student had trouble finding a place to stage the play because theatre venues were focused on the pre-planned productions.
“That’s the kind of thing we will be able to make more space for, literally,” Rodgers said.
Current students will be able to finish courses of studies in film studies or theatre arts if they choose. Incoming students for the Class of 2024 interested in film and theatre will have to pursue the new major track.
The merger is scheduled to be officially voted on during the next faculty meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 5. Accord- ing to Rodgers, more clear-cut information about the major will be available during the registration period for fall, when upcoming classes will be official.