The Show Must Go On at William Jewell

from Explore Liberty 2020

ON THE COVER

The show must go on

William Jewell College offers entertainment through live theater

The college on the hill in Liberty has had a theater program for decades. While audiences are most often faculty, friends, family and alumni, the Garnett Peters Theater in Brown Hall on the William Jewell College campus seats 220 and often has room for more people in the audience.

The liberal arts college offers bachelor’s degrees in theater, musical theater and education with speech and theater emphasis.

Professor Nathan Wyman, director of the Jewell Theatre Company, and Chris McCoy, assistant professor of theater and the stage director for the Jewell Theatre Company, lead the program.

Wyman specializes in stage design, production, scenery and lighting, while McCoy handles more of the directing. Together they create a team that provides students diverse experiences.

“We offer professional productions,” McCoy said. “We offer comedies, musicals, dramas, … people will get a wide variety. To me, this is a chance to see the upcoming stars of tomorrow. We want to introduce students to challenges.”

Wyman agrees with the word “challenge.” In November 2015, the company presented “The Metamorphoses,” a narrative poem by the Roman poet Ovid captured by contemporary playwright Mary Zimmerman.

“We don’t shy away from challenging,” Wyman said. “We built a pool of water on the stage as the play requires. We brought in an engineer to make sure the floor could support it. As a theater designer, that’s what we like to do.”

McCoy said the department is adding a black box space next season. Wyman said Brown Hall used to house the college’s swimming pool and many Liberty kids used to take swimming lessons there, making it familiar to generations of locals.

The new black box theater will seat around 60 and provide additional rehearsal space as well as the venue for an upcoming presentation of a comedy based on an ancient Greek play.

“We also work with the music department, too,” Wyman said. “The students who want a This is a chance to see the upcoming stars of tomorrow. Chris McCoy " " Jewell professors Chris McCoy and Nathan Wyman

Performance of "Godspell" in Jewell Theatre

Performance of "Metamorphoses" in Jewell Theatre

musical theater degree take vocal lessons and ear training, as a couple examples.”

In early April 2020, the company will put on “A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder,” a musical comedy.

“Musicals are big hits around here,” Wyman said. “However, no matter the show, we need audiences.”

As such, the productions are priced to be affordable to a wide audience. Tickets for plays are $10 and tickets to musicals are $12 for most guests.

McCoy said the college has been celebrating the 100th anniversary of women students attending William Jewell. The directors plan to feature a play related to this milestone in the upcoming season. There will also be a senior student theater festival that will showcase the five senior theater majors in the spring of 2021 and include oneacts over two weekends. The students also participate in a 24-hour play festival where they write, create and stage a show.

For details and schedules, visit jewell.edu/ programs/theatre.

★ C o u r i e r - T r i b u n e ★ G l a d s t o n e D i s p a t c h ★

★ C o u r i e r - T r i b u n e ★ G l a d s t o n e D i s p a t c h ★

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