Student Blog: Life At Dobbins Conservatory

We are at that fun time of year where colleges are sending out offers and high school seniors are choosing which college they are going to, high school juniors are starting to look at which colleges they want to audition at and what they want their degree to look like. Since it is that wonderful and exciting time of year, I thought I would share a bit about my conservatory and why I chose the Dobbins Conservatory of Theatre and Dance at Southeast Missouri State University. But first, a bit about my college journey because it is slightly out of the ordinary.

I am a class of 2020 graduate, which means I was starting college right in the middle of a pandemic. I began as an acting major at Illinois State University completely online due to covid. All of my classes were over zoom, so I decided to save money and live at home instead of moving on campus. Eventually, I discovered that ISU, while a good school, was not the school for me. My friend from home had asked me to come watch a production at Dobbins Conservatory with her and after seeing that production, I knew that this is the school I wanted to be at. So, I auditioned for the program and now here I am. Deciding to transfer was overall so scary, but it was the best decision I could have made for myself. I am now a BFA Musical Theatre major here at Dobbins Conservatory and I couldn't be happier. My experience here has been a little different since I came in as a sophomore. I am technically graduating a year late, in 2025, but I just wanted some more time and to take advantage of some more opportunities while I'm here.

So, now a little run down of what our musical theater program looks like/what my experience here at Dobbins Conservatory has been like. For starters, one thing that makes our conservatory wildly unique is that we have our own arts campus called River Campus. It is about 5-7 minutes from the main campus and it is where all of our major classes and productions take place. We have three buildings, all have their own rehearsal studios, dance studios, practice rooms, and other resources like that, and one of those buildings has housing and dining. I currently live on River Campus and I love it a lot. The rooms are nice and it is so convenient to be able to just walk downstairs for class or for rehearsal. Or sometimes, late at night we'll go down to one of the studios and just be silly goofy. The campus is right by the Mississippi river and it is very pretty. I love sitting outside and working on homework and such. Having a campus just for arts students is very nice.

Each semester here has looked a bit different for me class wise. I normally have about 2 to 3 classes a day. This semester was a bit of a lighter load for me, so there are days when I have one class and am done by 12:20, which is super nice because I then have time to take a nap, work on other things, or just hang out for a bit before rehearsals and such. Each semester, usually I'm in at least one acting class, dance class, singing class-including private voice lessons, and a class for my film and literature minor. What is really nice about the degree track here, is that you really can decide which classes you want to take when. Of course, there are a few classes you wanna get out of the way earlier on, but it is pretty flexible. Even though we are a conservatory, we are still a part of Southeast Missouri State University, so we do still have to take general education credits, but there aren't too many of those.

Now looking at performance opportunities. We have a bunch of performance opportunities throughout the year as well. We have the opportunity to audition for 9+ productions per year-not including student run productions/workshops. We do about 4 Mainstage shows a year, two plays and two musicals, and the rest we do are a part of our signature series productions-including a few student directed productions, which I think is incredible. The show I am currently assistant directing, is directed by a graduating senior and choreographed by a student which I think is really amazing that we get to do that. We also feature one brand new play each year that is the winner of our Lanford Wilson New Play Festival. We also have a TON of student produced/written/created work that gets put on. I've been fortunate enough to be able to be a part of three student produced productions while being here including the world premiere of a new musical, which was very exciting. We have nights of student written one acts, we have a gender bent cabaret every year, anything we as students want to do, we are more than likely able to do it. That is something I love most about our conservatory.

Looking at our student life here is also filled with different organizations and clubs. I am a member and now on the executive board for Alpha Psi Omega. We are a national theater honors society and our motto is to "seek a life useful." APO has been a great way for me to connect with other people in my major and my mom was also in APO when she was in college, so it is really cool to get to be a legacy within the organization. It is a great organization to be a part of. Follow us on instagram @semo_apo for more information about us! We also have the Dramatically Incorrect Comedy Club, New Play Group for new playwrights, Student Government Association, Black Indigenous Performers of Color, plus a bunch of other wonderful organizations.

My life here at Dobbins is so crazy, but very unique and I wouldn't want it any other way. That is what I think I like the most about our conservatory, is that, yes, there are certain required classes I have to take, but I can make my college career very personal and how I want it to look. Like I've mentioned in previous blogs, I've gotten the opportunity to direct, stage manage, assistant stage manage, as well as perform which is something you can't always do at other schools. Students are very much encouraged to try other things besides just performing and I love that a lot. I've gotten to work with so many wonderful people here already and I cannot wait to see what my last two years here hold. For a little glimpse at my day-to-day life here at school, Click here for a day in the life vlog!

If you would like to know more about our conservatory you can go to this link here https://semo.edu/colleges-departments/arts-media/conservatory/ and for more information on student life you can follow @semo_dobbinsconservatory on instagram!