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New MSU theater chair plans to renovate Auditorium

January 31, 2006

Newly appointed chair of the Department of Theatre, George Peters hopes his strong administrative background will help put MSU theater in the spotlight.

A professor of German in the Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages, Peters said his experience heading the department from 1998 to 2000 provided him with the managerial savvy that will be key in leading the theater department.

Peters is confident that the department's enthusiastic faculty will be at the core of a superb performing arts program. He has already learned a lot in his first week and a half on the job.

"There is a strong base to start with, and I'm excited at the prospect of it," he said.

Bringing some fresh faces to the faculty will help Peters change the department. He is also looking at making some of the part-time faculty more permanent.

"My job as chair is to listen very carefully to the faculty and to become an advocate for what the faculty decides to do," he said.

While listening to the faculty will give him plenty of ideas, Peters draws from his background to bring in some unique solutions on how to make theater productions sparkle. Peters has taught German drama and would like to see the department's productions internationalized.

"We want to put on productions that provoke, move people, that excite people," he said. He also said including more international plays and incorporating other departments will increase the department's visibility on campus.

While there has already been cooperation with the School of Music to produce musicals and operas, Peters suggests that the foreign language and English departments could serve as an added component to acting.

In the future, theater students could perform Shakespeare in English classes and French language students may help theater students in a production of "Tartuffe." The goal is an integration of the arts and letters curriculum.

"All the arts, particularly theater, play an important part of society," Peters said.

Future plans are to renovate the MSU Auditorium with new windows and a marquis. They would show students that the auditorium is not just an old building — it's vibrant and alive, Peters said.

"It's not just cosmetic," he said. "It's really … to underscore the commitment of theater in our students' lives and in the future."

He thinks that the improved facilities will be a catalyst in boosting recruitment.

He also wants to draw in larger audiences from students and the community and work with local theaters to build a repertoire of what plays are produced. Plans to cultivate resources from the university and bring in private funds will also be key to the vitality of the department.

"There is a strong commitment on the part of the university to see theater flourish here," he said.

Peters also wants to do fundraising with Friends of the Summer Circle, a nonprofit board that oversees Summer Circle productions that take place at MSU during summer break.

The department will offer a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree starting fall 2006. Two events coming up are "The Waiting Room" starting today and "The Repertory Dance Concert," which begins Feb. 16.

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