Student Blog: The Heart of Collegiate Theatre

The first collegiate theatre production I ever had the pleasure of seeing was Ride the Cyclone at Emerson College. This was back in the fall of 2022, when my older sister, who played the singular role of Jane Doe, was just a freshman. I remember walking into the theatre so excited to see my sister in her debut performance, already incredibly proud of the most talented person I know. Two hours later, I left with a newfound appreciation—for her, for the musical itself, and for the whole company, which was made up entirely of students. Both onstage and behind the scenes, students and students alone were responsible for the moving piece of art I had just witnessed. At the time, though I was undoubtedly impressed, I do not think I fully grasped the magnitude of the feat that is putting on a full-fledged theatre production as a student group. Now, as a college student myself, surrounded by friends who are closely involved in the student theatre scene, I am truly in awe of their talents.

This semester, in full-circle fashion, Boston College Contemporary Theatre is working on their production of Ride the Cyclone. The cast includes my gifted roommate, Annabelle Havers ‘29, who will be playing the role of Constance Blackwood, also known as “the nicest girl in town.” On October 29, I had the opportunity to sit down with her and hear about her experience with the show and student theatre at BC. I began by asking Annabelle why she thinks it is important that universities have student theatre, to which she shared that “especially for a B.A. program where we’re trying to encapsulate all different aspects of theatre,” including acting, directing, stage managing, and designing, “it’s really nice that people can experiment in different fields.” Adding on, Annabelle said that students should get involved because “it’s enlightening to learn from other people who have had the same years of experience as you, but different experiences,” expressing that “it’s nice to learn alongside someone else.” I was then curious to know what challenges arise when working alongside other students. “Sometimes it is a little bit hard to get feedback from student directors, especially if your vision for the character and their vision for the character clash. At the end of the day, you are the same age, so it’s hard to find that balance. I would say the biggest challenge is submitting to that power dynamic, and I feel like people do a good job of not abusing that power,” Annabelle said. Finally, I wanted to get Annabelle’s perspective on what makes Ride the Cyclone special. Her immediate response was, “What isn’t special about Ride the Cyclone?” She went on to share that “you can find an aspect of yourself in every single character.” Her biggest takeaway is this—“Don’t take life too seriously because you never know what’s going to happen. Be grateful for all that you do have. I think that’s a wonderful thing to constantly remind yourself of.”

From my point of view, student groups are at the heart of collegiate theatre. It is simple to see that every contributor, whether actor, director, stage manager, designer, techie, or even audience member, cares deeply about the work at hand.

Ride the Cyclone, directed by Olivia Balkan ‘29, will run from November 13-15 in the Bonn Studio at Boston College. Get tickets at bc.edu/tickets.