East Lansing might not be New York City or Chicago, but for theater buffs there are plenty of venues to choose from and many ways to get involved in local productions. Below are some highlights for theater fans and fanatics.
See shows locally
For high-quality Broadway shows, don't even bother to leave campus. Wharton Center brings top musicals to our backyard. Its 2005-2006 season features the following: "Hairspray," "The Boy Friend," "The Lion King," "Annie," "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and "Stomp."
The shows can be a little pricey, although student prices are available. Tickets usually cost about $30, but the musicals are excellent and worth the money.
Lansing has the only Mid-Michigan professional theater venue, BoarsHead Theatre, which also tries to make shows accessible to students. Right across the street from the Capital Area Transportation Authority Center, students can make it to the theater without a car. Student tickets are always $12.
Community theater venues are a little cheaper - tickets will range from $5 to $12 - and generally have decent plays and musicals to offer. These include Riverwalk Theatre, Lansing Civic Players, or LCP, Peppermint Creek Theatre and Sunsets with Shakespeare.
Riverwalk Theatre and LCP are more family-oriented whereas Peppermint Creek Theatre and Sunsets with Shakespeare go for edgier plays. In the summer, Sunsets with Shakespeare offers free Shakespeare plays in local parks.
The MSU Department of Theatre also offers shows on campus. There are usually six to 10 main stage shows that cost about $10 for students. These shows are well done and span a wide range from comedy to drama to musicals.
Get with the crew
If you just want to continue acting, but don't have time to spend with rehearsals every night, then taking THR 101 (Acting 1) at MSU could be a good move. Sections fill up fast, so if getting into the class freshman year isn't possible, make sure to check the course out for sophomore year.
In the class, students present scenes and monologues and do trust exercises, along with voice and movement studies. For people who enjoy THR 101, a theater class for non-majors, Theater 310 is available.
"Some people have such heavily concentrated majors that this interest becomes a sideline for them," said theater Professor Rob Roznowski. "People gain self-confidence and assurance and understand what goes behind good acting."
The MSU Department of Theatre's shows have auditions open to all students. Auditions are not widely publicized, so non-theater majors have to keep an ear out. Notices are usually hung around the Auditorium on campus, said Lamont Clegg, a theater professor. Many non-theater majors are in these shows, and actors say the atmosphere is very accepting.
"They're not usually performance arts majors; they usually just have a love of theater," Clegg said.
Many independent student productions also are put on during the year, offering a chance to act on the smaller scale.
Students direct these shows and the competition is said to be less fierce.
Many students on campus turn to community theater venues such as Riverwalk Theatre and Sunsets with Shakespeare because they feel there are more opportunities available off campus.
Mark Peterson, a theater sophomore, said he has yet to get a leading role in a department show, but has received multiple roles with Sunsets with Shakespeare.
Lansing Community College shows are often open for auditions from MSU students as well.
