Time and again, Taylor University’s Theatre Department has proven their quality.
Senior Caroline Gilmer reflected on the Theatre Department’s success with the Taylor Theatre production of The Birds. The Theatre Department submitted their production into the 2023 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF), and it got accepted from 30 other productions.
The Birds production team practiced loading and unloading the set to ensure they could do so efficiently at the festival. But all the hard work was worth it. The festival was an incredible experience.
“The reactions from the audience were so loud and everyone was so present with us,” Gilmer said. “And we also got recognized at the national level for a bunch of awards… which is just really cool to know that we're a small Christian liberal arts school – in like the middle of nowhere – but we're doing good enough art that it can be recognized by other people who are not Christian, who are in the full theater world and can still see that what we're doing is excellent.”
Being together for hours at a time, Gilmer built close relationships. She had good memories from rehearsals with lots of laughter. She recalled driving to IHOP after opening nights with the production team and eating pancakes.
But with the good times, there are also hard times. From working with Taylor’s Theatre Department these past few years, Gilmer said she learned how to persevere. She had been challenged which came in different forms.
Some challenges came in the form of embarrassment when a mistake happened during rehearsal or when she tried a new technique to see where the impulse might take her. Making art is difficult. Being in the Theatre Department is enlaced with challenges.
There are two kinds of reactions to challenges. “…you can shrink away and be like, ‘That's hard and that felt scary and so I'm just gonna not’ – or you can lean into [the challenge] and see what you can learn there,” Gilmer said.
Leaving Taylor’s Theatre Department brings a lot of emotions for Gilmer. She and fellow graduating seniors have walked with each other throughout their time at Taylor. They’ve shared ballet classes, music theory and all of the ups-and-downs of life in the theatre.
She knows each of them so well – not just their personalities, but also what they’re good at and what makes them artistically interesting. The graduating seniors are the type of people she would want to work with in the future.
The last show for all of the seniors – Noises Off – brought the theatre team to tears. Before every performance, the production team circles together, and they hear the announcements and then they pray. But for the last show of the year, the circle-up is a time for goodbyes.
As everyone says goodbye, Director Tracy Manning takes the moment to thank the graduating seniors.
“Everyone's crying,” Gilmer said. “But then we're like, ‘Okay, now we have to do the show.’ There's this kind of total separation – put away the feelings for now so we can do our work well, because if you're on stage and you're crying…you're not doing your job well.”
Goodbyes could not be the focus that night. The production team was to give the audience the performance they deserved. But there were moments during Noises Off when Gilmer stood backstage.
She thought about this production as her last. She tried to stay mentally present and do what she knew how to and have a great time doing it. Goodbyes aren’t easy.
She had poured so much of her heart and life into the theatre. “And it just feels like so much a part of who I am…” Gilmer said. Leaving would be weird, but she found encouragement that the Theatre Department will keep creating wonderful things.
Ronnie Jackson, a junior who recently joined the theatre in fall of 2022, said that the theatre productions in some way, shape or form have always been bigger than the theatre team. Jackson said that the shows were not always feel-good shows. Some of the productions were really hard to process.
But think about the set designs. There were only a few students working in number, but the sets were amazing. Time and time again, Jackson explained, the theatre has proven — not only to themselves, but to Taylor and to everyone that despite their small size – they are great.
Jackson will miss the graduating seniors. “I am really grateful for the seniors for paving the way and I hope that I can do exactly just that,” Jackson said. “All I can do is just ask God to give me the strength to do that and immeasurably more than I could imagine.”
The Theatre Department will walk through the creativity paved and inspired by graduating seniors.
Taylor’s Theatre Department has performed to the best of their ability. The actors, set designers and those who put effort into the details have honored the Taylor community by their hard work and discipline. We are proud of our graduating theatre seniors and wish them the best.
The Taylor community looks forward to future productions. No pun intended — the show must go on.
