The small professor-to-student ratio here allows you to work one-on-one with your professors in a variety of student-produced projects. The Senior Project is intended to be the culmination of the Theatre Major. You will work with faculty to select the subject of your Senior Project, which is a practical application of everything you've learned in class and the production program. This is your opportunity to take a subject and run with it! You can do one-person shows, perform a major role in a Welch Theatre production, create scenic, costume, or lighting designs for productions, or devise a Senior Project that embraces multiple skills. Some of our recent Senior Projects include:
Other courses in the theatre curriculum also allow you to receive academic credit while pursuing projects. The Advanced Studio courses in acting, directing, and design/tech create opportunities for you to direct, design, and perform major roles in student- and faculty-produced plays. Our students have directed full-length plays in the Dragon's Lair Theatre and designed the lighting, costumes, and scenery for Welch Theatre productions.
The Region II Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, includes competitors from schools in southwest New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C., northern Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio.
Richards's design was critiqued at the Festival by a professional lighting designer, stage manager, set designer, and costume designer. She was then given feedback on her design and overall presentation, which included a concept statement, sketches, photos, and research. Richards says the judges were most interested in her process, including how her work evolved from the original concept to the final visual product.
"The Festival is a great opportunity," said Richards. "It was very exciting to have a professional lighting designer looking over my work and pointing me in the right direction. It's a great honor to be selected for the award and to represent Lycoming College."
This image from A Midsummer Night's Dream shows one of Amy's many lighting designs that reflects the play's atmosphere of mischief and magic. The production was directed by Grechen Lynne Wingerter, Visiting Instructor of Theatre at Lycoming.
"It's been wonderful working in the Theatre Department," Richards said. "There are a lot of opportunities if you are willing to put yourself out there. The only way you can really succeed in technical theatre and design is if you have the experience and the opportunities to get your hands dirty, play around, and try new things. The department has been very supportive of that." Richards's career at Lycoming culminated with her lighting design for our production of Wonder of the World.