j
2010-11
Academic
Year
Truckee Meadows
Community College
School of Liberal Arts
PERFORMING ARTS
PROGRAM/UNIT REVIEW SELF STUDY
Truckee Meadows Community College
2010-2011
Performing Arts
I. INTRODUCTION
In higher education, participation and study in the performing arts is not only an enrichment for the student and the
institution but in truth also develops vital skills that are directly applicable to a broad range of careers and leadership
positions in the business marketplace as well as specifically in the performing arts arena. Based on “a survey, the
National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) identified the top 15 personal qualities they seek in job
candidates. These included:
1) Communication skills
2) Honesty/Integrity
3) Teamwork
4) Interpersonal skills
5) Motivation/Initiative
6) Strong work ethic
7) Analytical skills
8) Flexibility/Adaptability
9) Computer skills
10) Organization skills
11) Attention to detail
12) Leadership skills
13) Self-confidence
14) Friendly/Outgoing
15) Tactfulness” (Minnesota) (RESEARCH)
Findings from this survey concluded that employers believe these qualities are more concentrated in students who
have studied and participated in the performing arts in higher education, many employers actively recruit and hire
these individuals for their businesses because, as a spokesperson at State Farm Insurance said, “they bring a little bit
different perspectives to the company.” (Minnesota) (Little)
The study of performing arts in our liberal arts college provides many educational benefits for our students. In
addition to the acquired qualities noted above by the NACE survey, the study of the performing arts strengthens
important cognitive awareness such as spatial reasoning, conditional reasoning (theorizing about outcomes and
consequences), in addition to problem solving and creative thinking. Diversity awareness, acceptance, and the
assertive practical and positive uniting of ideas that originate from multiple and varied cultural, gendered, and
attitudinal sources is motivated and exercised in the performing arts in an enriched, effective, and long-term learning
format that few other individual disciplines incorporate. Performing Arts graduates enter a breadth of jobs and
businesses that utilize their creative, diversified, and analytical skills to lead their organization forward to achieve
ongoing market success.
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Performing Arts
The programs in the performing arts at Truckee Meadows Community College have excelled in student education and
development as well as in their artistic public presentations. For example, the theatre program has developed a
reputation for continuous presentation of plays and musicals bolstered as equivalent to or better than productions in
the professional arena and hailed as the best theatre in the greater area. Our music and dance courses, as well, are
considered to be outstanding and students have reported back that after completing the lower division courses here at
TMCC they have found themselves to be advanced beyond their fellow students in the 300 level courses they enroll in
after transferring to a four-year institution.
The performing arts programs at TMCC give our students a unique, personalized, high-quality education that
develops skills and abilities directly applicable to the arts and business communities regionally and world-wide.
Mission Statement
The mission of Truckee Meadows Community College’s Performing Arts Program is to create a learning environment
that fosters excellence in the performing arts. Through a variety of traditional and contemporary approaches, students
are prepared to create, examine, analyze, and perform in music, theatre, musical theatre and dance for a career in the
performing arts or to transfer to a baccalaureate program. The program values the creative process, the creative
product, and the student’s individual “voice.” The faculty is committed to setting positive examples for students
through scholarship, service, and collaboration. An emphasis is placed on “life-long learning” and on “serving a
diverse population.”
The following is the TMCC Mission:
“Truckee Meadows Community College provides access for lifelong learning opportunities to improve the
quality of life for our diverse community. The college anticipates and responds to educational needs of
individuals to achieve their goals, aspirations and dreams. TMCC creates a supportive, intellectually and
cultural dynamic environment by offering the following:



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

General education programs
Transfer degree programs
Developmental education programs
Occupational/technical degrees and programs
Customized job training
Continuing education
Recreational programs and cultural events
Student and academic support services” (TMCC)
The Performing Arts mission strongly parallels and reinforces the overall mission of Truckee Meadows Community
College in the following ways:

General education—The Performing Arts program offers the DAN 101 Dance Appreciation,
MUS 121 Music Appreciation, THTR 100 Introduction to Theatre, THTR 210 Theatre: A
Cultural Context. Our students must complete general education courses in other disciplines
required to fulfill all four degrees and the two certificates.
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2010-2011
Transfer degree programs—The AA Degrees in Performing Arts are transferable to all
Nevada institutions of higher learning, plus our individual courses are transferable to most
nationwide two- and four-year institutions.
Occupational/technical degrees—although we do not offer an emphasis in Technical Theatre,
the skills garnered from the technical theatre class plus the production classes are useful in
helping students gain employment in the local entertainment venues and the local IATSE
stagehand union.
Recreational programs and cultural events—the Performing Arts Program is very active in
the local cultural events scene with an entire season of public performances and concerts.
The community involvement in the program is quite large, and the outreach to the
community is a strong point of the program. The public shows have audience members of all
ages representing many different cultural groups. The Performing Arts Program also helps
out institution-wide with participation in commencement, award shows, faculty gatherings,
and on-campus student activities.
Student and academic support services—students in the program are required to go through
mandatory advisement upon entering the program and once a year thereafter. With the
electronic degree audit reports available to the students, advisement is an ongoing process
with much faculty assistance. Fliers and posters also provide class information and students
are encouraged to seek assistance from counselors about general education requirements.
Degrees, Certificates, and/or Non-Credit Courses offered
Degrees/Certificates
Associate of Fine Arts: Emphasis Theatre (activated in the 2000-2001 catalog year)
Associate of Fine Arts: Emphasis Music (activated in the 2000-2001 catalog year)
Associate of Fine Arts: Emphasis Musical Theatre (activated in the 2007-2008 catalog year)
Associate of Fine Arts: Emphasis Dance (activated in the 2007-2008 catalog year)
Certificate of Achievement in Theatre (activated in the 2000-2001 catalog year)
Certificate of Achievement in Music (activated in the 2000-2001 catalog year)
Primary Goals and Objectives
Music:
1. To educate and train students with the skills and knowledge necessary to transfer at the junior level
to a four-year institution including Music Theory I-IV, Sight-singing/Dictation I-IV, applied lessons,
a component of music history, and performance opportunities through solo juries and participation in
a music ensemble in regular concerts at our Nell J. Redfield Performing Arts Center.
2. To offer education to non-musicians seeking to further their knowledge in the field of music.
3. To prepare students for teaching private applied lessons and professional performance opportunities
as well as the knowledge to work in the retail music industry.
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Performing Arts
Theatre:
1.
To provide students with specific, practical theatre skills including acting fundamentals, vocal techniques,
theatre history, theatre diversity, stagecraft and technical theatre, rehearsal processes and performance
opportunities.
2. To provide students with a supportive theoretical and knowledge base necessary to sustain and forward
theatre as an art form.
3. To prepare students for successful transfer to a baccalaureate program or to become a professional in the
performing arts, theatre education, or in allied fields such as communications, psychology, marketing or
public relations.
Musical Theatre:
1.
To provide students with specific, practical musical theatre skills including acting, singing and dancing,
musical theatre history and culture, musical theatre diversity, stagecraft and technical theatre, rehearsal
processes and performance opportunities.
2. To provide students with a supportive theoretical knowledge base necessary to sustain and forward musical
theatre as an art form.
3. To prepare students for successful transfer to a baccalaureate program or to become a professional in the
performing arts, music, dance or theatre education, or in allied fields such as communications, psychology,
marketing or public relations.
Dance:
1.
To provide students with specific, practical dance skills including the techniques of jazz, ballet, tap and
modern dance, dance history and dance diversity, choreography, rehearsal processes and performance
opportunities.
2. To provide students with supportive theoretical knowledge base necessary to sustain and forward dance as an
art form.
3. To prepare students for successful transfer to a baccalaureate program or to become a professional in the
performing arts, dance education, or in allied fields such as physical therapy, dance instruction or personal
training.
Factors Expected to Affect Future
Unique Characteristics:
1. The Performing Arts Programs are highly creative and encouraging environment that addresses
different learning styles through Universal Design, such as; visual, aural, reading/writing, and
kinesthetic learning.
2. The program teaches many historical concepts using a variety of artistic styles from original works,
the classics and popular genres.
Truckee Meadows Community College
2010-2011
3. The program develops students’ communication skills including verbal, written, physical, artistic
and musical communication.
4. Educational growth is recognized and rewarded and students are able to track their progress
throughout the rehearsal schedule with instantaneous feedback from the director/instructor.
5. The Performing Arts Program offers a creative environment which utilizes current technological
advances in digital lighting, film and sound editing for project DVD’s, current popular and classical
theatre pieces, original creations, and use of multimedia in performance.
6. The program teaches concepts applied to many areas of the creative arts including kinetic
movement, visual and aural design, physical, mental and emotional study of character, group process
and goal orientation.
7. The Performing Arts program teaches a health component to its curriculum due to the performance
nature of the classes.
8. It is a year-round program with a 24/7 schedule depending on the performance projects. Weekend
and holiday work are common place within the program.
9. Each semester’s productions demand an entire revamping of conceptual curriculum for each of the
production classes.
10. The Performing Arts program hires many TMCC student workers to augment the technical aspects
of the program.
11. Team work, time management and goal orientation are a major part of all performance classes within
the program.
12. The Performing Arts Program is a money generating program with revenues from ticket sales used
for student scholarships and future production costs.
Concerns/Trends Affecting the Discipline:
1. There is an articulation impasse with the transferability and acceptance of all music classes at UNR.
Common course numbering issues are being worked out to strengthen transferability.
2. The rising student interest in the performing arts disciplines overwhelms our three full-time faculty
members and the limited qualified part-time faculty pool.
3. There are limited facilities capabilities for student and community demand for live production
options.
4. The student demand for more film opportunities is greater than our time capabilities and our
technology.
5. There is a high demand from feeder schools to offer art experiences for younger audiences.
Significant Changes or Needs in the next 3 years:
1. Equipment maintenance and replacement. Our midi and piano lab are beginning to show signs of
age and wear and will need to be replaced eventually. We will apply for tech fee awards and grants
to help subsidize these costs.
2. At least one more full-time faculty member in Music to provide more consistency and help improve
transferability.
3. New technology in RDMT 242 including a video camera over the instructor digital piano keyboard
enabling students to view instructor’s performance techniques. We will apply for tech fee awards
and grants to help subsidize these costs.
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Performing Arts
4. The Performing Arts Program needs to hire a full-time Dance instructor since we have a degree in
place, majors in line, classes and curriculum in place and no full-time instructor. Although our parttime instructors are very good, the dance portion of our program should have a full-time instructor.
5. More web-based classes such as Dance: a Cultural Context, Film: A Cultural Context and Music:
A Cultural Context should be added to the curriculum due to student demand and diversity
requirements.
Specific Niches that the program/discipline serves:
1. The music program provides access to music performance opportunities to the community as a
whole through Concert Band and Concert Choir ensembles for which no audition is required.
2. The music program serves many in-house creative needs by providing music and musicians for
various meetings, programs, galas, receptions, and most importantly commencement.
3. Institutionally the program interacts with many other facets of the college: collaborative projects
with Graphic Arts and Animation Art, singing at commencement, producing and hosting Philippine
Cultural Night for the TMCC Philippine United Student Organization, collaboration with TMCC
High School, working with the faculty Social Club, performing at fund-raisers and social gatherings
for the college, and sharing production resources with others.
4. Community-wise, the Performing Arts Program is highly interactive. We offer shows for audiences
of all ages, from children’s theater productions to Vintage Players productions and tours for our
senior citizens. We are active in shared collaborations with other performing groups, and in loaning
costumes and props to local high schools and community theatres. We are an integral part of the
Reno Arts Corridor and an active participant in many community events.
WORKS SITED
Little, Wesley B., Personnel Representative, State farm Insurance. “Learn to Market your Liberal Arts Degree
for a Lifetime Career.” The Black Collegian 25.1 (1994): 111(7).
Minnesota, University of. University of Minnesota, cla college of liberal arts. 2011 06-June. 2011 йил 06June <http://www.class.umn.edu/business_and_cla_degrees/succeed_in_business.html>.
RESEARCH, NACE. Job Outlook 2005. 2004. 2011 06-June <http://www.clarion.edu/75819.pdf>.
TMCC, Truckee Meadows Community College. TMCC. 30 September 2010. 30 September 2010
<http://www.tmcc.edu/about/mission/>.
Truckee Meadows Community College
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II. Demographics and Enrollment
General Student Demographics
Age:
According to data provided by the TMCC Office of Institutional Research the dominant age range for students in all
the performing arts programs from the Fall semester 2005-the Spring Semester 2010 has been 18-24 years of age.
This age range is significant because it demonstrates that students right out of high school and through the
traditionally dominant college age years are choosing to be students in our programs and then moving forward to
pursue further degrees or careers in the performing arts at an early enough age where the employment opportunities
for starting a career in the performing arts are at their highest. The percentage of declared majors in each of the
performing arts degrees between the ages of 18-24 is significantly higher than the college wide average. The AA-Fine
Arts Degrees and certificates in Music and Theare were activate in the catalog year 2000-2001. The AA-Fine Arts
Dance and Musical Theare degrees were activated in the 2007-2008 catalog year.
AA- Fine Arts, Dance Majors
by Age Groups
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Fall 05
Fall 06
Fall 07
Fall 08
AA Fine Arts, Dance
Fall 09 Spring 06 Spring 07 Spring 08 Spring 09 Spring 10
18-24 yrs
25-34 yrs
35-49 yrs
Truckee Meadows Community College | Program/Unit Reviewed: Performing Arts
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2010-2011
Performing Arts
AA-Fine Arts, Music Declared Majors by Age
Groups
80
70
60
AA Fine Arts, Music (AA-MUS)
50
0-17 yrs
40
18-24 yrs
30
25-34 yrs
20
35-49 yrs
10
50+ yrs
0
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
AA-Fine Arts, Musical Theatre Declared Majors by
Age Groups
14
12
AA Fine Arts, Musical Theater (AAMT)
10
0-17 yrs
8
6
18-24 yrs
4
25-34 yrs
2
35-49 yrs
0
Fall 05Fall 06Fall 07Fall 08Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
Truckee Meadows Community College
2010-2011
AA-Fine Arts, Theatre Declared Majors by Age
Groups
50
45
40
35
AA Fine Arts, Theater (AA-THE)
30
0-17 yrs
25
18-24 yrs
20
25-34 yrs
15
35-49 yrs
10
50+ yrs
5
0
Fall 05Fall 06Fall 07Fall 08Fall 09Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
Certificate-Music Declared
Majors by Age Groups
10
9
8
7
6
5
CT Music (CT-MUS)
4
18-24 yrs
3
25-34 yrs
2
1
0
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
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2010-2011
Performing Arts
Certificate-Theatre Declared
Majors By Age Groups
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
CT Theater (CT-THE)
18-24 yrs
25-34 yrs
35-49 yrs
50+ yrs
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
Gender:
According to the data provided by the TMCC Office of Institutional Research the gender balance of students involved
in our program has been relatively close in percentage. In Dance however, females have always had the large
percentage of students and majors. In the music area of the performing arts males have the established majority
percentage of majors in the art, but in Musical Theatre and Theatre the gender breaks are closly equal in percentage.
In all our areas of the performing arts we also have a number of students (of both genders) actively involved in the
program but have not yet officially declared their major. These students are seeking to upgrade their job skills,
acquire new skills and build a stronger résumé. From the fall of 2005 through the spring of 2010 the performing arts
programs have educated 10,675 students, yet only 1,010 were officially degree seeking. Of the 1,010 degree-seeking
students 46% were female and 54% were male. A higher population of female students attend the classes in the
performing arts programs at 52% verses the males at 48%. We believe this may be attributed to culturally females
tend to stay closer to their families than males; thus some females may have less desire to want to earn a degree and
perform outside the area.
Truckee Meadows Community College
2010-2011
AA-Fine Arts, Dance Declared
Majors By Gender
14
12
10
8
AA Fine Arts, Dance (AA-DAN)
6
4
Female
Male
2
0
AA-Fine Arts, Music Declared
Majors By Gender
80
70
60
50
AA Fine Arts, Music (AA-MUS)
40
Female
30
Male
20
10
0
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
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2010-2011
Performing Arts
AA-Fine Arts, Musical Theatre Declared Majors
By Gender
14
12
10
8
AA Fine Arts, Musical Theater (AAMT)
6
Female
4
Male
2
0
Fall
05
Fall
06
Fall
07
Fall
08
Fall Spring Spring Spring SpringSpring
09
06
07
08
09
10
AA-Fine Arts, Theatre Declared Majors By Gender
50
45
40
35
30
AA Fine Arts, Theater (AA-THE)
25
Female
20
Male
15
10
5
0
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
Truckee Meadows Community College
2010-2011
Certificate-Music Declared
Majors By Gender
10
9
8
7
6
CT Music (CT-MUS)
5
4
Female
3
Male
2
1
0
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
Certificate-Theatre Declared
Majors By Gender
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
CT Theater (CT-THE)
2
Female
1.5
Male
1
0.5
0
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
Ethnicity:
According to the data provided by the TMCC Office of Institutional Research the ethnicity in the performing arts has
had a white majority although there had been a rise in Hispanic and African American students over the last few
years. One of the noted characteristics of student diversity has been repeatedly demonstrated in the theatre
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Performing Arts
productions produced in the performing arts program. In these productions numerous students of various ethnic
backgrounds (including African American, Asian, Hawaiian, Hispanic, and Native American) have been involved in
the production classes and onstage in the plays and musicals presented for public audiences. A combination of the
performing arts programs as compared to the college as a whole demonstrates a significantly larger percentage of
African-American students 5.07% as compared to the college average of 3%. The Asian population of students with a
declared major in the performing arts is slightly higher than the college average of 5.89% to 5% respectively. The
group of students choosing not to report their ethnicity withing the performing arts programs are 4.57% as compared
to the college average of 1%. We believe the increased percentages of these groups are attributed to the community
based performances attracting students to our programs. The ethnic groups of Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic,
International, Native American/Alaska Native, Two or more races and White show lower percentages than the
respective college’s statistics as a whole.
AA-Fine Arts, Dance Declared
Majors By Ethnicity
14
12
10
AA Fine Arts, Dance (AA-DAN)
African American
8
Asian
Hispanic
6
Native American/Alaska Native
4
Unreported
White
2
0
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
Truckee Meadows Community College
2010-2011
AA-Fine Arts, Music Declared
Majors by Ethnicity
80
AA Fine Arts, Music (AA-MUS)
70
African American
60
Asian
50
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
40
Hispanic
30
International
20
Native American/Alaska Native
Two or more races
10
Unreported
0
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
White
AA-Fine Arts, Musical Theatre Declared
Majors By Ethnicity
14
12
AA Fine Arts, Musical Theater
(AA-MT)
10
Asian
8
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
6
Hispanic
4
Unreported
2
White
0
Fall
05
Fall
06
Fall
07
Fall
08
Fall Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
09
06
07
08
09
10
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2010-2011
Performing Arts
AA-Fine Arts, Theatre Declared Majors By
Ethnicity
50
45
40
AA Fine Arts, Theater (AA-THE)
35
African American
30
Asian
25
Hispanic
20
Native American/Alaska Native
15
Two or more races
10
Unreported
5
White
0
Fall
05
Fall
06
Fall
07
Fall
08
Fall Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
09
06
07
08
09
10
Certificate-Music Declared
Majors By Ethnicity
10
9
8
7
CT Music (CT-MUS)
6
African American
5
Asian
4
Hispanic
3
Two or more races
2
White
1
0
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
Truckee Meadows Community College
2010-2011
Certificate-Theatre Declared
Majors By Ethnicity
4.5
4
3.5
CT Theater (CT-THE)
3
African American
2.5
Asian
2
Hispanic
1.5
Unreported
1
White
0.5
0
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
Please refer to Appedix D for information about the demographics in the performing arts programs.
Student Status
Educational Status
According to the data provided by the TMCC Office of Institutional Research the Educational Status as defined by
Continuing, New, and New Transfer students show the majority of students spanning between 2005 and 2010 are
catagorized as “Continuing”. There is a higher percentage of new students in the fall semesters as would be expected
with the trend of higher enrollment at the beginning of the school year as compared to the spring semesters. Of
interest to note more and more students are enrolled and degree seeking students at UNR are also joining our TMCC
Musical Theatre Degree Program and dual enrolling because UNR does not offer a degree such as ours. These
students are finding it complements their UNR degree and improves their marketability in the performing arts career
field. In the fall semesters of 2007 through 2009, there is an almost equivalent split in the AA-Fine Arts Music degree
between continuing and new students. We believe this trend could be attributed to new students being made aware of
transferability issues to the University of Nevada Reno’s Music Department. The Theatre and Musical Theatre
students do many performances throughout the community which builds our program awareness with potential new
students.
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2010-2011
Performing Arts
AA-Fine Arts, Dance
By Educational Status
14
12
10
8
AA Fine Arts, Dance (AA-DAN)
Continuing
6
New
Transfer
4
2
0
Fall
05
Fall
06
Fall
07
Fall
08
Fall Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
09
06
07
08
09
10
AA-Fine Arts, Music
By Educational Status
80
70
60
50
AA Fine Arts, Music (AA-MUS)
40
Continuing
New
30
Transfer
20
10
0
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
Truckee Meadows Community College
2010-2011
AA-Fine Arts, Musical
Theatre By Education Status
14
12
10
AA Fine Arts, Musical Theater (AAMT)
8
Continuing
6
New
4
Transfer
2
0
Fall 05Fall 06Fall 07Fall 08Fall 09Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
AA-Fine Arts, Theatre Declared Majors By
Educational Status
50
45
40
35
30
AA Fine Arts, Theater (AA-THE)
25
Continuing
20
New
15
Transfer
10
5
0
Fall 05Fall 06Fall 07Fall 08Fall 09Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
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2010-2011
Performing Arts
Certificate-Music Declared
Majors By Educational Status
10
9
8
7
6
CT Music (CT-MUS)
5
Continuing
4
New
3
Transfer
2
1
0
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
Certificate-Theatre Declared
Majors By Educational Status
4.5
4
3.5
3
CT Theater (CT-THE)
2.5
Continuing
2
New
1.5
Transfer
1
0.5
0
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
Enrollment Status
According to the data provided by the TMCC Office of Institutional Research the Enrollment Status of students in the
performing arts has a majority at half time status. However, since the fall of 2006 semester to the present a rise in
students in a full-time status can be seen and it appears to continue to rise as more and more students in the
Truckee Meadows Community College
2010-2011
performing arts are trying to complete their education in the AA-Fine Arts degrees of Theatre and Musical Theatre.
We believe this is attributed to the versatility of the teaching staff. The AA-fine Arts Dance and Music degrees
continue to maintain a higher level of continuing students. The Music program may not attract as many new students
as it could if the transferabilty issues were remedied.
AA-Fine Arts, Dance Declared
Majors By Enrollment Status
14
12
10
AA Fine Arts, Dance (AA-DAN)
8
<1/2 time (0-5)
6
1/2 time (6-8)
4
3/4 time (9-11)
2
Full-time (12+)
0
AA-Fine Arts, Music Declared
Majors By Enrollment Status
80
70
60
50
AA Fine Arts, Music (AA-MUS)
40
<1/2 time (0-5)
1/2 time (6-8)
30
3/4 time (9-11)
20
Full-time (12+)
10
0
Fall
05
Fall
06
Fall
07
Fall
08
Fall SpringSpringSpringSpringSpring
09
06
07
08
09
10
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23
2010-2011
Performing Arts
AA-Fine Arts, Musical
Theatre Declared Majors
By Enrollment Status
14
12
AA Fine Arts, Musical Theater
(AA-MT)
10
<1/2 time (0-5)
8
6
1/2 time (6-8)
4
3/4 time (9-11)
2
Full-time (12+)
0
Fall
05
Fall
06
Fall
07
Fall
08
Fall SpringSpringSpringSpringSpring
09
06
07
08
09
10
AA-Fine Arts, Theatre Declared
Majors By Enrollment Status
50
45
40
35
AA Fine Arts, Theater (AA-THE)
30
<1/2 time (0-5)
25
20
1/2 time (6-8)
15
3/4 time (9-11)
10
Full-time (12+)
5
0
Fall 05Fall 06Fall 07Fall 08Fall 09Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
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2010-2011
Certificate-Music Declared
Majors By Enrollment Status
10
9
8
7
6
CT Music (CT-MUS)
5
<1/2 time (0-5)
1/2 time (6-8)
4
3/4 time (9-11)
3
Full-time (12+)
2
1
0
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
Certificate-Theatre Declared
Majors By Enrollment Status
4.5
4
3.5
3
CT Theater (CT-THE)
2.5
<1/2 time (0-5)
2
1/2 time (6-8)
1.5
Full-time (12+)
1
0.5
0
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
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Performing Arts
Student Recruitment Activities
The performing arts are quite active in relation to student recruitment. The programs are all indeed based around
performing they use this medium as an outreach tool for recruitment. The Musical Theatre Touring Company (MTT)
is a class where the students travel to and perform at area high schools. While at the high schools the MTT students
spend time talking about the qualities of the music, dance, and theatre programs. MTT also travels and performs at
various service organizations such as: the Airport Authority, seasonal city celebrations, and numerous other events.
With MTT performing for events and groups such as these, the high quality of our programs are directly shared with
those audiences who then share it with their friends and family.
Public performance is a large part of our program education. All of the theatre, musical theatre, concert choir, concert
band, and dance shows the performing arts produce they are reaching out to the community and inspiring new
students to register for classes in the associated programs. They are in the local papers (Reno Gazette Journal, Sparks
Tribune, and Reno News and Review) frequently with numerous articles and production reviews. Many students have
been drawn to the TMCC Performing Arts as a direct result of having read about the quality performances and/or
having attended a performance themselves.
The more notoriety the program obtains through performances, news publications and word of mouth the more new
students we see declaring the various performing arts degrees. The Musical Theatre program has been chosen to
perform at the International Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland in the summer of 2011. This very prestigious
event is a high honor for the program and the college. In a dual attempt to fund raise for this trip and increase
awareness of this top quality program, students associated to the trip have been performing at area restaurants, holding
wine tasting and auction events where they also perform, as well as performing in other various venues. These
outreach activities, in association with sharing the knowledge of this upcoming Scotland performance trip has inspired
many potential new students to look in to becoming involved in the TMCC Performing Arts.
With each children’s production, the children spread the word, thus increasing the interest in our programs. Each fall
semester, the performing arts program teaches a children’s theatre class where the prime activity of the class is to
rehearse, produce, and perform a musical theatre production primarily aimed at elementary aged audiences. The
second half of each semester each and every Tuesday and Thursday morning schools from Washoe County, Lyon
County, and Carson City bring their student to the Nell J. Redfield Performing Arts Center to see that production. This
annual trip has been extremely successful and in addition to providing a positive educational experience for all the
attending elementary students as well as all the participating TMCC students, this children’s theatre class and
production has continually drawn many new students to the program.
With each production, Truckee Meadows Community College increases the presence in the community and functions
as a recruiting tool, like the production performed by our Vintage Players. The Vintage Players are a class made up of
senior citizens who come together to write, rehearse, and produce a revue show to be presented to the public at the
Nell J. Redfield Theatre. Following that performance, the Vintage Player students then tour their show around the area
to numerous senior centers and retirement homes. In addition to providing a healthy, invigorating, and positive
educational experience for the senior students, the public performances of the revue has continually drawn new
students to the class.
As a result of all the outreach and awareness of the program’s value to the community, the performing arts (and most
particularly the musical theatre) have been able to be elevated in the minds of many community members to be the
best program and production company in the far reaching area. The status of excellence has created yet another
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recruitment tool for the program: a quality program attracts students who have the desire to reach for success and
quality themselves.
Underserved Student Population
The Musical Theatre Touring Company performs at high schools (including charter schools) has included schools
with highly diversified student populations. At these performances, outreach to students of broad cultural backgrounds
has been directly spoken to by the MTT students and faculty about the TMCC program. It is made known at these
outreach and recruiting events that being involved in the performing arts is not based on or limited by cultural
backgrounds but instead on ability, desire, commitment, communication, and talent. It is further shared that college
training in the performing arts is an avenue for students to discover more about their own abilities as a communicator,
team member, and goal setter. This outreach communication has drawn many students to the college who may never
have taken that college step otherwise. As noted by the ethnicity distribution of the students in the performing arts
programs, the underserved student population is attracted by simply having a more ethnically diverse group of
performers. The Nell J Redfield Performing Arts Center faculty and staff assist the Filopino Club with their annual
production including: planning , rehearsal and production each spring semester.
Enrollment Patterns
Number of Sections
According to the data provided by the TMCC Office of Institutional Research the number of sections offered within
the performing arts programs over the last five years has been on the rise overall. The Dance courses are required to
be combined at all levels for economic purposes. By combining the Beginning, Beginning/Intermediate and
Intermediate/Advanced courses limits enrollment and discourages intermediate and advanced students as they do not
feel they receive the same level of instruction as a single level course could provide. This is most particularly true in
Music because of the class size limitations based on classroom capacities. The Music Applied Lessons (MUSA)
course show a decline in the number of sections offered, because we offer courses based on the needs of the current
students. If we do not have tuba or bassoon student in the program at the time we do not offer those sections. There
is concentration of students focusing on Piano, Voice and Percussion. The Music Ensemble (MUSE) courses also
show a decline in the number of sections offered as we have not offered the Guitar, Orchestra, Jazz and the Jazz Voice
Ensembles due to loss of qualified faculty and budgetary restraints. In the theatre disciplines however, there are larger
student capacities because they are held at the Nell J. Redfield Performing Arts Center. This larger space, in addition
to the fact that the theatre production classes cannot allow ore sections due to the unique needs of the productions,
does not clearly show the rise in students involved in the class sections offered as we simply increase enrollment. A
rise in theatre sections can also be seen when looking at the trend from 2005-2010 with inclusion of the new courses
required for the Musical Theatre degree.
Full Time Equivalent Enrollment
The performing arts FTE appears to remain stable and growing in all its programs. Along with the growth there seems
to be minor flux between the fall and spring semesters. The aspect to note of these statistics of 2005-2010 however is
the continual, gradual FTE growth of all the programs. As each program continues to gain notoriety the FTE can be
seen to grow as a result. The disciplines of Dance, Music and Theatre continue to increase as these classes attract
more students with each performance. The Music Applied Lessons (MUSA) courses have seen a drop in FTE as they
coupled with the Music Ensembles(MUSE) which have dropped from six to two offered courses per semester.
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Performing Arts
Retention Rates
The retention rates in all of the performing arts programs are quite strong. Dance, Music Ensembles (MUSE), Applied
Music (MUSA) and Theatre are all in the mid to high 80% retention and the academic music courses (MUS), which
includes the general education course sections of Music Appreciation, have a high 70% retention rate. We have
repeatedly found that students enrolled in the performing arts courses (particularly) the performance active courses
have a positive follow through and commitment to the class. Based on feedback and knowledge of the areas the
instructors who teach the classes realize that much of the retention in maintained because in the performing arts there
is daily direct communication, support, and feedback given to each individual student by the instructor. This continual
direct feedback reinforces the student’s commitment to the class and desire to strive to produce high quality work.
Student to Faculty Rates
The student to faculty ratio has remained consistent form Spring 2005- Spring 2010, ranging from 13 to the low 20s
for most of the performing arts courses. The dance classes are severely limited due to all three levels of each style of
dance being combined into one class period. The Music Applied Lessons courses are broken into instrument types,
and are further limited because these classes only make up a small portion of the required courses within the degree at
two credits for Musical Theatre and six credits for the Music degree. The Music Ensemble courses (Band and Choir)
are traditionally higher and increasing from the high 20s to the mid 30s. The Ensembles are increasing in enrollment
with each public performance and by funneling the students into fewer courses.
Number of Declared Degree/Emphasis Seekers
The number of declared majors in the performing arts has been on a gradual rise between 2005-2010. The declared
Music majors, as of Spring 2010, is at 67, the theatre majors at 48, and the dance majors at 11. Many of these courses
are limited by combined sections, diversity by musical instrument and the uniqueness of the productions. The low
number of declared degree seekers in Dance, Music applied Lessons and Theatre programs is reflected in the
explanation of Faculty Rates above and inconsistencies in transferability to the University of Nevada, Reno. The
number of degree seeking students can be increased by expanding one-on-one faculty advisement, and increased
transferability agreements with the University of Nevada, Reno of which we hope to have finalized in the near future.
The number of students with declared certificates for Music and Theatre are declining, because we are strongly
motivating these students to become degree seeking. Currently we are assessing the value of the certificate programs
and may deactivate them in the future.
Student Success Rates
The success rate for performing arts students can be measured in many ways above and beyond graduation. While a
growing number of students (more than in any previous time period) in the performing arts are currently striving
towards a degree completion, a number of students enrolled in the performing arts courses are taking the courses for
knowledge attainment and are not interested in seeking the degree or transferring to a four year institution. The Dance
program at UNR over the years has repeatedly been shifted from one department to another (Physical education to
Music and now to the Theatre). This continual shifting of territory has caused discomfort in the minds of our degreeseeking dance students. It is hoped that the UNR Dance program will remain in the Theatre Department and
eventually blossom which in effect will strengthen the TMCC Dance degree completion and transfer to UNR.
The Music degree completion at TMCC has greatly suffered because of the lack of cooperation in following NSHE
protocol by the UNR Music department regarding transferability of classes from TMCC to UNR. Even after
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numerous meetings and agreements between TMCC and UNR Music, the UNR Music faculty refuse to accept equal
classes taken by students at TMCC and are forcing them to retake the courses. Many students who must transfer to
UNR because of geographic necessity realize that completing the Music degree at TMCC is useless because they will
have to retake the classes at UNR defying the Common Course Numbering and transferability agreements. It is hoped
that in the very near future this problem will finally be resolved and the TMCC students and their classes will be
rightfully recognized.
The Theatre degree program continues to have a low graduation rate. We are strongly encouraging the undeclared
majors in the program to work towards a degree while building their skills and résumés. Now that the University of
Nevada, Reno’s theatre program is safe from being cut, we will use that security to promote the transferability of the
degree.
There are certainly more that we can be doing within the performing arts programs to increase graduation rates.
Increased faculty advisement of students within our varying programs would improve student success because they
are continually networking with professionals in each field providing more intimate knowledge specific to the
student’s area of interest. By adding a portfolio class including: a 30 minute showcase, résumé and head shots would
help the students sell themselves to potential employers offering more opportunities and notoriety to the school.
The success rate in the performing arts can also be measured by the high level of retention rates noted above, the
positive reviews of performances, and the professional employment in the performing arts that a number of TMCC
students have obtained (including Disney, New York Stage, and Los Angeles).
Finally, the success rate of students in the performing arts can also be measured by looking at the acquired abilities
and skills TMCC students develop in the performing arts that are vastly applicable to careers across the market. These
vital skills include: leadership, confidence, communication, team building and interacting, goal-setting and
completion, analytical, diversity awareness, creative thinking and problem-solving, and numerous other skills that
importantly contribute to the success of an individual in the professional and varied job markets.
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Performing Arts
III. CURRICULUM
A. Degree/Emphasis Assessment Reports
The Performing Arts Programs are multifaceted with concentrations in theory and practical applications in Music,
Theater, Musical Theatre and Dance, therefore, the assessment strategies are also multifaceted and varied. Evaluating
course content is an ongoing evolutionary process, similar to the ever changing and organic nature of performance art.
Methods for course evaluation include: feedback generated by class evaluations, from others in the performing arts
communities, from alumni and persons in the industry, and a very important factor: feedback from the audience and
the public sector. Not many courses have their content, process and product on show for the public and for peers to
evaluate, but the performing arts do have this public evaluation. Additionally, faculty and staff in the Performing Arts
department meet on a regular basis to discuss course content and other related program issues.
Another vital assessment tool for the performing arts faculty in evaluating course content is our membership in
various local and national organizations related to our professions. The national organizations give us valuable
information on the current trends in education and in the industry. Faculty members have memberships in Actors’
Equity Association (AEA), Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), Theatre Communications Group.
This is the first formal Degree Assessment Report for the Performing Arts, although each year the faculty discusses
the course offerings and degree requirements for the department. The Performing Arts Degrees in Music, Theatre,
Musical Theatre and Dance are fairly new degrees activated in the 2007-2008 catalog year and the process for
implementation was conducted in the past few years. Modification to the degree assessments are an ongoing fluid
process which is reviewed yearly by the full-time faculty with input from part-time faculty. In the past we have
eliminated courses which were on the books that had not been taught for a while and which did not specifically impact
the degree requirements. Courses such as Playwriting, Interpretation, or 20th Century Theatre Literature were
deactivated because they did not contribute directly to the degree requirements, and we were unable to teach them as
electives due to budget restraints. Modifications to the music degree are in flux due to negotiations with UNR about
acceptance of some of our lower level music courses. As mention in prior sections we expect to have these issues
remedied soon, and hope as early as the summer of 2011.
B. Course Assessment Report Summaries
The Performing Arts Program is in its first year of collecting formal PDCAR reports, although informal assessment
has been ongoing since the courses and degrees have been put into place. Assessment Reports from classes taught in
the spring semester are on file for THTR 105, Introduction to Acting I, THTR 205, Introduction to Acting I, THTR
206, Theatre Workshop: Acting III, THTR 176, Musical Theatre Workshop I, THTR 276, Musical Theatre II, and
THTR 209, Theatre Practicum. In addition to those updated course reports, there will be PDCAR reports for classes
taught only in the fall: THTR 116, Dance Styles: Musical Theatre, THTR 231, Children’s Theatre, and THTR 175,
Musical Theatre. Additionally PDCAR reports for THTR 100, Introduction to Theatre, THTR 207, Laboratory
Theatre, THTR 258, Theatre Experience and Travel and THTR 295, Independent Study: Theatre will be completed
when the class is offered again.
Although all dance classes have individual assessment tools for rating the performance level of a student, there have
been no formal published PDCAR reports generated for the dance classes. All dance classes are taught by part-timers
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since there is no full-time faculty, although there is a degree offered in dance. All four levels of dance (for example
DAN 132 Beginning Jazz, and DAN 133 Beginning Intermediate Jazz, and DAN 232 Intermediate Jazz and DAN
233 Intermediate/Advanced Jazz) are taught concurrently. In the past, the department was able to offer different
levels of dance at separate times, but because of budget cuts, the classes have been combined. The Performing Arts
coordinator is working with the part-time instructors to formalize the assessment reports.
The music classes continue to do in class course assessment on a regular basis, but no PDCAR reports are on file
currently. We plan to have many of these reports on file before the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year.
C. Assessment Driven Improvements
In the Performing Arts, faculty is always in a state of fluidity and change because of the nature of the art with which
we deal. Feedback is instantaneous in performance situations and public and peer feedback is analyzed constantly. In
the last five years changes to the theatre degree and the musical theatre degree have involved a clarification of prerequisites, and the substitution of a few courses on an individual basis for students who are graduating. Improvements
to the dance degree include the addition of all levels of ballet to the list of applicable dance classes and clarification as
to the repeatability factor for all dance classes. The extensive PDCAR reports for the theatre courses revealed six
areas of improvement to help with student success: good rehearsal structure and organization create a positive
learning environment, early collaboration with other faculty and staff create a more structured environment for the
students, full-time faculty were able to create an audition assessment tool which is fair and just, students need more
training in time management and personal organizational skills, assessment tests should be administered
electronically, and students need more concrete direction on some “creative” projects.
D. Evaluating Relevancy of Curriculum
Course Content
The relevancy of the Performing Arts curriculum relative to course content is well documented by the transfer
success of our students to other institutions, the reputation we have in the community for educating performing arts
students, and by the comparative analysis of similar courses within NSHE.
As stated before, the Performing Arts production courses are in a constant state of assessment due to the nature of
the classes. Course content relevancy is evaluated each semester and internal changes are made when needed.
Although the learning objectives remain constant, built within the production courses: THTR 209, Theatre
Practicum, THTR 176, Musical Theatre Workshop I, THTR 276, Musical Theatre Workshop II, THTR 206,
Theatre Workshop: Acting III, THTR 207, Laboratory Theatre: Acting IV, THTR 231, Children’s Theatre, all
Music Ensemble classes, DAN 281, Dance Performance and DAN 287, Concert Dance Company, are the content
changes which come from the changes due to the production itself. Content changes each time a new play or
musical is produced and the faculty are able to create and move in a fluid manner so that the classes and the student
outcomes and measurements are successful.
Degree/Certificate Requirements
Because of the new General Education requirements adopted by the Board of Regents, the Performing Arts Program
is evaluating the degree/certificate requirements for each of its entities. Changes in the past five years have included
the elimination of some classes as elective choices since the classes have been deleted from the TMCC catalogue
(THTR 108, THTR 112, THTR 122, THTR 200, THTR 221, THTR 224, THTR 245, THTR 253, THTR 254, THTR
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Performing Arts
255, and THTR 260) to streamline our course offerings. No Dance classes have been eliminated, but all levels of a
certain dance style are taught concurrently which creates a less than opportune teaching/learning environment. The
Dance degree requirements will change this year so that PEX 174 will shift out of the Core Requirement credits and
into the elective credits, plus all three level of ballet will be added to the emphasis requirements. To streamline the
Music course offerings, these classes have been eliminated from the course offerings:






Finale
Midi
Orchestra
Jazz Band
Jazz Choir
Music History (suspended pending UNR agreement)
The full-time faculty, along with the chair, is reexamining the number of credits needed to graduate from each
discipline and we are realigning with the NSHE new requirements.
Methods of Instruction
The relevancy of the methods of instruction are assessed each semester by the faculty with input from the students,
from emerging trends in the industry and even the ticket-paying community. The performing arts faculty agree that
we need to implement more hybrid classes and web based classes to meet student demand. In the formulative
stages are two diversity classes, Dance: A Cultural Context and Film: A Cultural Context.
Faculty Qualifications
One important method for assuring that curriculum is relevant and appropriate is field experience (participating in
artistic endeavors) for the faculty. Please see Resources section for a complete list of qualifications. This
professional development is vital to ensure instructors are viewing the latest in theater, dance and music
presentations locally, state wide and nationally. The amount for these field trips or training is usually dependent on
funding for theater tickets and for travel. Sources for this funding include professional development monies from
the department ($300 a semester), Faculty Senate travel funds and money acquired through grants or ticket sales.
Despite the sources available, there is usually not enough money to adequately fund field experience and training
for all three full-time faculty in the program. Because of this, faculty pay personally for these experiences related
to the Performing Arts curriculum.
The performing arts program has a very high level of part-time faculty and they collaborate well with the full-time
faculty. In dance, exceptions to the Master Degree requirement have been waived in lieu professional dance
experience.
E. Post Completion Objectives (transfer, job placement, etc)
The Performing Arts Program is a transfer program with articulation agreements throughout NSHE. Chair Aberasturi
is working with Vice chancellor Nichols to strengthen the articulation agreement between UNR and TMCC as it
relates to the music fine arts degree. The NSHE is also working on the state-wide system to cement the articulation
agreements between the two year and the four year institutions so that a student graduating from a Nevada two year
institution may enter a Nevada four year institution at a junior status without having to retake certain common course
numbered courses. We in the Performing Arts are working with our colleagues at UNR to strengthen these
agreements so that our students may transfer seamlessly into their junior year.
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F. Secondary Student Preparation Efforts
There is a trend to enroll current high school students into certain performance classes to obtain dual credit for
graduation. With permission from the high school guidance counselor and the parents, a student may enroll in any of
our classes and receive dual credit. Students might take an acting class or a production class because the high school
offerings in performing arts are dwindling due to budget restraints at the district level. We have also supervised
interns from the school district as they pursue their career exploration interests. The one formal Tech Prep
articulation agreement on the books between WCSD and TMCC involves THTR 160 Television Production I and
THTR 161 Television Production II.
G. External Review
The Performing Arts Program is in a constant state of External Review due to our public offerings and performances.
The external review is quite informal but is backed by statistics from ticket sales, survey responses, informal feedback
from others, and by feedback from local performing arts groups. The fluidity and the collaborative nature of the
creative process demand that we, as educators, are alert to what is happening in our art community.
H. Non-credit Training Offered
Not applicable.
I. Curriculum Development Strategies
1. Assessment Findings and Strategies
Because of the creative and collaborative nature of student work, the Performing Arts offers classes that
must necessarily posses a level of subjectivity in their evaluations. A trend towards grading “artistic
expression” is to use point systems clearly spelled out in the course syllabi. The point system takes into
account individual creativity, but supplies the student with a concrete self evaluation of process and
learning. Also, since many of the music classes are simultaneously taught by different part-time instructors,
it is reasoned that standard evaluation criteria could be most beneficial to instructors, students and to the
Performing Arts Program.
To assess student success, the Performing Arts Program:



Implement on-line course assessment with Angel
Collect and archive student work to create a portfolio
Create and employ pre-tests and post-test in appropriate classes.
The juried system of private lessons has a pre and post evaluative process built into the course. The
Fundamentals of Acting course is implementing a pretest this semester which is compared to the
post test given at the end of the semester to determine how much knowledge the student may possess
on entrance to the class. The performance classes which begin on day one of rehearsal and terminate
with a public performance will be crafting a standard pre-test/ post-test system. The dance
instructors and Performing Arts Coordinator are working on the standardization process in which
one moves from level to level in dance technique classes.
 Work with Performing Arts part-time faculty
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2010-2011


Performing Arts
The Performing Arts faculty will meet with the performing arts part-time faculty on order to gather
ideas and to discuss approaches for course assessment strategies, for foundation course
standardization. Courses that have standardized syllabi and content are: MUS 121 Music
Appreciation, MUS 111: Piano I and MUS 107: Guitar I plus the MUSA individual applied lessons
and the DAN technique classes.
Look at student evaluations
Student evaluations are another excellent way to assess learning outcomes. The Performing Arts
faculty continuously encourage students to assess the learning objectives and content of courses to
better serve student goals
Accreditation
The Performing Arts faculty is committed to working with the institution as TMCC goes through
the accreditation process. An examination of the NSHE requirements for graduation, the changes
made by the system as a whole in regards to General Education, the need to articulate with the fouryear institutions, the need to streamline the credit requirements for our four degrees, the need to
clarify the Learning Outcomes and Assessment Measures for all courses, plus the clarification of the
Program Learning Outcomes will all lead to a method of program assessment which is data driven
and congruent with the NSHE mission.
2. External Resource Recommendations and Implementation Plans
It was helpful in years past for the Performing Arts Programs to meet with colleagues in NSHE to complete
the common course numbering project. In this manner we were able to exchange ideas and discuss trends in
the industry and in pedagogy. Budget restraints and the advent of immediate electronic feedback and econferencing may have made these face to face meetings a thing of the past. We look forward to working
with our statewide NSHE colleagues as we implement new changes to the General Education and Degree
requirements set forth by the Board of Regents.
3. Anticipated Factors Affecting Curriculum and Strategies
There are many factors affecting our Performing Arts Curriculum and Strategies:

Budget restraints state wide that affect the growth of our program

Inability to replace the full time music position now vacant.

Inability to hire a full-time Dance Instructor

Inability to hire a full time replacement if one of the full time faculty members retire or leave TMCC

Inability to add new classes to the curriculum to augment learning

The need to streamline the total number of units required for our degree programs

The need to clarify for our graduating students the difference between an Associate of Arts Degree
in Fine Arts vs. a Degree in General Studies

The inability to have an electronic Curriculum Process online and functioning
Truckee Meadows Community College

NSHE mandates as to the General Education requirements

Mandates imposed from the Accreditation Results

Assessing a programs worth using mere graduation rates
Truckee Meadows Community College | III. Curriculum
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Performing Arts
RESOURCES
Faculty and Staff
Required Faculty Credentials
Carolyn Wray, MA, MA

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
Tenured Faculty at TMCC
Masters Degree in Theatre: Acting and Directing
Masters Degree in Counseling
Actors’ Equity Member
Teaching Theater for over 30 years
Started the Performing Arts Program at TMCC in 1991
Sabbatical for Theater Program related to theater facility conceptualization, spring 2002
Helped to conceptualize and design TMCC Nell J. Redfield Foundation Performing Arts Center
Paul Aberasturi, MA, Ph.D- ABD
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

Tenured Faculty at TMCC
Chair of the Visual and Performing Arts Department (2006-present)
Masters Degree in Theatre: Directing and Musical Theatre
Doctorate in Theatre (ABD Status) with all course work, and comprehensive and specialized
exams (written and oral) completed.
Professional Theatre Director having directed in New York, Connecticut, Michigan, Florida, Ohio,
and throughout California totaling over 60 productions.
Paper Presenter and Panel Member at national academic theatre conventions including American
Theatre of Higher Education (ATHE) and the Speech Communication Association (SCA)
Teaching Theatre for over 20 years
Developed Children’s Theatre program (TMCC college student’s acting for Washoe County School
District students)
Developed Musical Theatre degree with Carolyn Wray and Theodore Owens
Helped to conceptualize and design the TMCC Nell J. Redfield Foundation Performing Arts Center
Theodore Owens, BM, MM, DMA- ABD
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

Tenured faculty at TMCC
Bachelor of Music in Music Composition
Master of Music in Music Composition
Course work for Doctor of Musical Arts completed 2004 with major area of concentration being
Music Composition, doctoral minor in Music in General Studies and Ethnomusicology
Expert in Music Theory, Music Composition, conductor of instrumental and vocal ensembles, music
direction for Musical Theatre
Developed the Musical Theatre degree with Carolyn Wray and Paul Aberasturi
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Teaching music for over 20 years
Voted best professor by Reno News & Review four years in a row (2006-present)
Full-Time to Part-Time Faculty Ratio
The Performing Arts program as a whole averages 57% full-time faculty teaching the courses, yet the individual
disciplines do not mirror these statistics. The dance courses do not have a full-time faculty member currently. The
statistics show the Music Applied Lessons course are strickly taught by full-time faculty member, yet this is not
accurate. The MUSA courses are over seenby Paul Aberasturi, the instructor of record because every student is
taught by a professional musician usually on a part-time faculty. The instructor of record process is used due to the
number of people teaching each section. Since the fall of 2005 the Music disciplines have averaged 41% being taught
by full-time faculty; while, the Theatre courses have averaged 84% and increasing with reduction of classes due to
budget cuts.
Percentage of Full-Time Faculty
Teaching in Music
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
Percentage of Full-Time faculty
Teaching the Music Ensembles
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
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Percentage of Full-Time Faculty
Teaching in Theatre
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
06
07
08
09
10
Required Classified Credentials
John Frederick
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NSHE System employee for five (5) years
AAII for Visual and Performing Arts Department for four (4) years
TMCC Theater Company Manager
Military Veteran of Dessert Storm
AA degree Fine Art
AA degree Fine Arts Emphasis theater
AA degree General Studies
Transfer Degree Associate of Science
20 years experience in amateur and professional acting
15 years experience sound engineer
Ty Hagar
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NSHE System employee for six (6) years
Theater Technician II for TMCC Theater Department for six (6) years
IATSE union member in good standing
20 years in professional sound, set and lighting design
Facilities manager at Redfield Performing Art Center for four (4) years
Classified FTE
Two Full-Time Classified at 100% FTE (John Frederick & Ty Hagar)
Facilities
The Performing Arts Program is housed primarily at the TMCC Nell J. Redfield Foundation Performing Arts Center
(RPAC). The Center was conceptualized, designed and constructed in 2002 when the program outgrew the limited
facility on campus which was subsequently slated to be renovated into the new Eardley Student Center. Since its
inception, RPAC has remained a highly regarded, intimate, midsize performance venue. The Performing Arts Center
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is scheduled to capacity with classes, rehearsals, and public performances. The facility has the capability to run 24
hours a day, seven days a week, and is open on the weekends and evening due to the flexible scheduling of the
classified staff and the instructors. RPAC also houses the music lab for music composition and sight singing classes.
It also is where the technical theater class is taught and where the construction for the productions take place.
Costume and prop storage, as well as construction, take place at RPAC. Lights, sound, tool and touring equipment are
housed at RPAC, and our storage is now at capacity.
Besides performances by the production classes in theater, musical theater, music and dance, the facility houses
performances and meeting by other campus entities. Although the system is set up for the rental of the facility to
outside groups, the feasibility of scheduling such outside events are nil. The building is being used to its capacity.
The dance technique classes are held on the Dandini Campus in the Dance Studio (RDMT 240) which is also booked
to capacity with PEX and WCDE classes. The Performing Arts Program must rent outside studio space to
accommodate the tap dance classes.
Most of the lecture music classes are taught on the Dandini Campus in specialized rooms with CD, DVD, and music
technology sources. The Piano Lab (RDMT ) houses a series of 12 electronic pianos used for piano training, theory
classes and sight singing classes. Chair Aberasturi was instrumental in getting this facility funded and built.
Technology
The Performing Arts Program is able to keep up with the changing trends in theater technology because we are only
able to do so much with the space and the power that we have. An adequate supply of Lab monies allow us to
purchase the latest in digital music downloads, computer programs such as Finale, software for graphic creations for
advertising, new lighting equipment and sound equipment. Last year we implemented ShowTix4U which is a
computerized box office system. This upgrade has made it possible for us to sell tickets online, have instantaneous
ticket printing and ticket reconciliation, plus a standardized accounting system. As a department we are very
conservative with what we purchase. We also replace outdated equipment in sound and lighting as we are able. For
each show which garners a profit in ticket sales, we invest in some form of new theater technology.
Funding Sources
Our funding sources are threefold. Last year the seven separate Performing arts Funds were consolidated into three
funds: Performing Arts Operations; Performing Arts Revenue; Performing Arts Lab Fees. The combined total for the
theater, musical theater, dance and music operations which was allocated July 1, 2010 were $22,773 (not including
professional salaries or fringe benefits). The other two funding sources to run our program are non-state budgets.
The Performing Arts Lab money is used to support the performing arts classes in terms of production costs,
instructional assistants, equipment replacement, scripts, books and music for classes, upgrades on student computer
programs for class and space rental for class. The other non-state accoount is the self-supporting Performing Arts
Revenue fund where all ticket sale money is deposited. This money is used for production costs for the classes, new
materials for the classes, new equipment and innovations, and scholarships for Performing Arts students. A
Performing Arts Scholarship Fund has been set up in the TMCC Foundation, and following a strict application
process and criteria matching, scholarships are awarded for TMCC credits and processed through the Financial Aid
Office.
The Performing Arts Department receives donations from outside sources and these monetary and/or equipment
donations are processed through the Foundation Office.
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Performing Arts
Resource Development Strategies
Staffing Issues and Strategies
Currently two of our programs are under-staffed in the areas of full-time instructors. Following the resignation of
one full-time music instructor in 2009, the position was frozen leaving the music program with only one full-time
faculty member. With the breadth of music classes to be taught both for the music program and the musical theatre
program, the one full time faculty member is stretched. To support this faculty member, a full-time faculty member
splits his teaching load between Humanities and Music. The many remaining courses are taught by part-time
faculty.
The Dance program, while having a degree emphasis associated to it, has never had a full-time faculty member
employed to lead the program. The courses are taught by part-time instructors (although it is generally recognized
that they are the best instructors of their field in the area). To cover the administrative and advising aspects of the
dance emphasis, the chair of the Visual and Performing Arts (who has knowledge in the academics of dance) and
the Performing Arts Coordinator have been fulfilling theses duties.
Facilities and Desired Capital Improvements
The TMCC Nell J. Redfield Foundation Performing Arts Center is the primary location for the educational and
community presentation activities associated to the performing arts programs. While the activities at the site
already overwhelm the capacity of the building to the point where a larger space would be beneficial for all the
performing arts activities and classes, the existing performing arts center is manageable and we are still able to
deliver quality education and produce high quality plays, musicals, music concerts, and dance recitals within its
walls. As the economy improves and the programs continue to grow in the upcoming years the eventual acquisition
of a larger and more diversified space would be advantageous for the associated programs, the college, and the
community.
The dance studio housed in the Red Mountain Building on the main campus currently fulfills the space needs for
the dance courses.
Funding Allocations and Development Strategies
The state-supported operating budgets provide the necessary funding for office supplies, copying costs, and other
associated expenses. The ticket sales account (which is sourced by tickets sold for performing arts productions) has
been developed into a self-sustaining account. These funds, along with the course lab fees associated to the
production classes, pay for the production expenses (royalties, set construction supplies, lights & sound equipment,
costumes, props, etc.). The strategies associated to the continued development of this recycling account is focused
on careful budgeting of production expenses while still producing the highest quality shows which repeatedly
draws ticket purchasing capacity audiences. This process has been very successful.
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Sate-Supported Operating Budgets
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Special Fees
There are no special fees attached to classes.
Grants
In the past few years the Performing Arts Program has applied for and received over $30,000 in grant money from
The City of Reno Arts and Cultural Committee for production expenses, the National Endowmnet for the Arts for
dance production expenses, the TMCC Foundation Grant fund for one shot technical upgrades to theater equipment,
and the TMCC Technology Grant fund for one shot equipment upgrades for technical theater. We have also been
granted a Regent’s Scholarship for the last five years to pay a student worker in technical theater. The yearly
student worker money for the Regent’s Scholarship is $7,500. We also employ a series of student workers at the
Performing Arts Center. Some students are paid with ticket revenue, others are paid through Operating Expenses,
and still others bring their own state or federal work study monies with them. A unique compotent to our
Performing Arts Program is the granting of performing arts tuition scholarships to our students enrolled in the
production classes. These scholarships are paid for by the Theater Ticket Revenue Account awarding almost
$21,000.00 from Spring 2009 through Spring 2011:
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Spring 2009 awarded $3,145
Fall 2009 awarded $2,906
Spring 2010 awarded $2,906
Fall 2010 awarded $7,850
Spring 2011 awarded $3,973
Non-Credit Training Income
The Performing Arts Department does not offer any non-credit training courses; therefore, there is no
income from this source.
Donations
The Performing Arts Department has been the recipient of quite a few donations from the local community. A
donation from the Nell J. Redfield Foundation of $250,000 was the startup money for the construction of the
TMCC Nell J. Redfield Performing Arts Center on Keystone. We have had private cash donations of over $15,000
in the last five years, plus many donations of costumes, props, furniture, and building materials. These gifts have
been registered with the TMCC Foundation. In anticipation of an International Tour to Scotland, a group of
Performing Arts students raised over $5,000 by contracted singing engagements, events and cash donations. Since
the Scotland Trip has been canceled, this money is being used for a performance tour to Southern California in
2011. A portion of the Theatre Ticket money which is earned with the TMCC shows is endowed back to
Performing Arts students to help with tuition at TMCC. The scholarship fund is managed by the TMCC
Foundation and TMCC Financial Aid.
APPENDIX B
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[PERFORMING ARTS]
APPENDIX A.
Dean’s Analysis of Funding Resources
The Performing Arts area is funded through state operating, lab fees and self-support dollars. This funding appears to
be adequate at this time.
State-Supported Operating Budgets
As indicated above, the performing arts area has sufficient operating budget to cover operating costs associated
with its day to day operations (e.g., phone, copying, etc.). The ticket sales self-support budget covers the costs
associated with the shows that are produced.
Lab Fees
The performing arts area has lab fees that are sufficient to cover the additional costs associated with courses offered
in this area. There is no need to increase lab fees.
Special Fees
None
Grants
The performing arts area has been the recipient of grants that have amounted to approximately $30,000. These
grants have allowed this area to upgrade equipment.
Non-Credit Training Income
None
Donations
The performing arts area receives monetary donations and donations for set equipment. These donations have
allowed students to travel and perform at arts festivals and have allowed this area to expand the possibilities of the
shows it may produce.
Other
None
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APPENDIX B
Visual and Performing Arts Department Assessment Cycles
Year (starting in 2011)
Fall/Spring
Theatre/Musical Theatre
THTR 100 Introduction to Theatre
yearly
S
THTR 175 Musical Theatre
yearly
F
THTR 176 Musical Theatre Workshop I
every even
S
THTR 198 Special Topics Speech and Theatre
as it runs
THTR 204 Theatre Technology I
yearly
F
THTR 209 Theatre Practicum
yearly
S
THTR 210 Theatre: A Cultural Context
every even
F
THTR 105 Introduction to Acting I
every even
F
THTR 116 Dance Styles: Musical Theatre
every odd
S
THTR 133 Fundamentals of Directing
as it runs
THTR 205 Introduction to Acting II
every even
F
THTR 206 Theatre Workshop: Acting III
every odd
S
THTR 207 Laboratory Theatre: Acting IV
every even
S
THTR 231 Children’s Theatre
every odd
F
THTR 258 Theatre Experience and Travel
as it runs
THTR 276 Musical Theatre Workshop II
every odd
THTR 290 Internship in Speech and Theatre
as it runs
THTR 295 Independent Study
as it runs
S
Music
MUS 101 Music Fundamentals
every even
S
MUS 105 Vocal Techniques
every odd
F
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MUS 107 Guitar Class I
every even
F
MUS 108 Guitar Class II
every odd
S
MUS 111 Piano Class I
every even
F
MUS 112 Piano Class II
every odd
S
MUS 113 Fundamentals of Music Composition I
as it runs
MUS 121 Music Appreciation
every odd
MUS 122 Survey of Jazz
as it runs
MUS 125 History of Rock Music
every even
F
MUS 131 Introduction to Music Literature
every odd
S
MUS 203 Music Theory I
every even
F
MUS 204 Music Theory II
every off
S
MUS Music Theory III
as it runs
F
MUS Music Theory IV
as it runs
S
MUS 211 Sight-Singing and Dictation I
every even
F
MUS 212 Sight-Singing and Dictation II
every odd
S
MUS 225 Music History I
as it runs
F
MUS 226 Music History II
as it runs
S
MUSE 101 Concert Choir
yearly
S
MUSE 111 Concert Band
yearly
F
every odd
S
S
All MUSA courses will be assessed yearly as they run
Dance
DAN 101 Dance Appreciation
DAN 132/133/232 Jazz Dance (Beginning/Intermediate) yearly
S
DAN 135/136 Ballet (Beginning/Intermediate)
F
every even
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DAN 138/139 Modern Dance (Beginning/Intermediate) every odd
S
DAN 144/145/244 Tap Dance (Beginning/Intermediate) every even
F
DAN 235/236 Ballet (Intermediate/Advanced)
every other
S
DAN 238/239 Modern Dance (Intermediate/Advanced) every other
S
DAN 281 Dance Performance
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APPENDIIX C
D
Degree and Certificate Worksheets
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APPENDIX D IN THE COMMUNITY’S EYE
Are we not men?
TMCC’s Glengarry Glen Ross
By Mark Dunagan
More stories by this author...
This article was published on 04.29.10.
David Mamet is one of the world’s most successful
playwrights, widely loved and widely hated. Detractors decry his
dialogue as unrealistic, which is generally true, but sort of misses
the point. Dialogue doesn’t have to be realistic to be great—just
ask old what’s-his-name from Stratford-on-Avon. Another charge
leveled against Mamet is rampant misogyny. His female characters
are often one-dimensional foils for the swinging dicks who
populate his imaginary worlds. In other plays, women are absent
entirely, and any references to the fairer sex tend to be less than
ingratiating.
John T. Linn, left, John Frederick and Robert
Green, right, portray a cutthroat real estate sales
culture in Glengarry Glen Ross.
PHOTO BY DANA NÖLLSCH
Glengarry Glen Ross will be performed April 29
at 7:30 p.m.; April 30 at 7:30 p.m.; May 1 at 2
p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; May 2 at 2 p.m.; May 7 at
These characteristics of Mamet’s work are important to the context
7:30 p.m.; and May 8 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are
of Truckee Meadows Community College’s production of the
$12 general admission, $10 students/seniors, $8
Pulitzer play Glengarry Glen Ross, arguably Mamet’s most
TMCC students, $20. TMCC Redfield
famous. The text features no women characters. When women are
Performing Arts Center, 505 Keystone Ave.
discussed, they are either nameless sexual conquests or annoying
Tickets: www.showtix4u.com or 789-5671.
impediments to deals. While the backdrop is a cutthroat real estate
sales company, its primary concerns are the ebb and flow of male
power relationships, and how the relentless pursuit of the
American Dream will alienate and destroy men if unchecked.
Consequently, it’s all the more curious that TMCC has staged the show with three different casts: a traditional male
cast, an all-female cast, and a mixed-gender version.
I saw the male cast, so I can’t comment on whether the female cast mines the play to exciting new depths, though the
potential is there. The concept seems gimmicky, but a bunch of macho women named John and Dave strutting around,
calling each other “cocksucker” and referencing their huge testicles could potentially be revelatory. By the way, leave
the kiddies at home for this one, unless you want them to head back to school sounding like sailors. If profanity
offends you, well, you’re not going to see eye-to-eye with Mamet, so skip it.
Glengarry’s dialogue and pathos are incredibly challenging, and TMCC’s male cast has mixed, but mostly positive,
results. John Frederick is spot-on and hugely entertaining as alpha male Ricky Roma, a badass firecracker whose sales
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prowess allows him to act however he wants, even toward the police. Cecil Averett’s portrayal of Shelly Levene, a
fading legend of the trade, isn’t quite as solid. Levene reaches high highs and low lows in conjunction with the
plotting, and Averett’s handling of the character’s hubris and vulnerability is somewhat uneven, though he does finish
powerfully.
The rest of the cast is somewhere in between. In particular, Tony Degeiso is capable with Mamet’s language and
offers a strong characterization as the hapless George Aaronow. However, for my money, it is the wrong
characterization: too broad and played for laughs too often.
Overall, TMCC and director Paul Aberasturi have staged a solid production with the male cast. The text’s plotting and
dialogue are superb, and TMCC has put together a worthy, crisp product that doesn’t get in Mamet’s way and fires on
all cylinders when things start crackling. I’d hate to talk anyone out of seeing something momentous, but my advice is
that if you’re unfamiliar with Glengarry, you should try to see this production on a male-cast night first. However, if
you’re the type of dude who’s always regaling your coworkers with choice tidbits from Alec Baldwin’s iconic
“Always-Be-Closing” speech (which isn’t in the stage version, mind you), then try something different. Head for the
theater on a female-cast night, and maybe see some new light shed on this great play. At a brisk and enjoyable hour
and a half, the production will hopefully invite some theater-goers and Mamet junkies to see it more than once.
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HAIR
By Wishelle Banks
More stories by this author...
This article was published on 01.03.08.
Heads up, baby boomers! If silver hair, spare tires and aching
joints aren’t enough to incite the sinking impression of middle age,
then TMCC’s special 40th anniversary production of Hair: The
John Frederick as Berger
American Tribal Love-Rock Musical ought to do the trick.
PHOTO BY WISHELLE BANKS
As rehearsals crank into full-gear and a whole new generation of
actors, musicians, singers, dancers and dreamers hone their
renditions of “Aquarius,” “Good Morning Starshine” and “Easy to
Be Hard,” director Paul Aberasturi reflects on both the past—as
well as the future—of this timeless musical’s universal appeal.
“It is the landmark rock musical, the first in history to have nothing but rock music in it,” says Aberasturi, director of
the play and department chair of TMCC’s Visual and Performing Arts.
“Following Hair came Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, Tommy and other rock musicals. Rent, which people have
called the Hair of the late ‘90s, deals more with the concept of who we are as people, and the themes of love, peace
and happiness.”
Ah, timeless themes indeed. Aberasturi—and Hair’s audience—don’t have to seek too deeply to recognize the
conflicting common threads of contemporary American society, now that we’re well into the millennium.
“Granted, we don’t have the draft today, but we still have a war that a large percentage of Americans disagree with,
just like many did in the Vietnam era,” Aberasturi notes. “There’s a need for people to look beyond the materialism,
at the [concepts of] brotherly love, sharing, giving, [and] everybody helping everybody … no matter what our
differences may be. If you look at the hippie, one of their aims was to change society, to help people to change, by
using their constitutional right to free speech.”
While the debate on diminishing rights continues to rage, Hair steadfastly provides a creative vehicle for collective,
essential self-expression, Aberasturi says, irresistibly shining the spotlight on 1968—the year the musical hit
Broadway’s Biltmore Theatre, where it held court for an astonishing 1,750 performances—when America’s
capitalistic waste matter came into direct contact with the oscillating air-machine of free-love-fueled pop culture.
“The 1968 protest of the Democratic convention in Chicago turned into a melee, an awful thing. Martin Luther King
Jr. [and] Robert Kennedy [were] assassinated. Now, there’s still a lot of confusion as to where our country’s going.
Hair is really great, because everybody comes together.”
Aberasturi says he’s delighted to effect change, ever so slightly, with the show’s script. For the Reno production, there
will be a couple of characters sitting ringside, providing commentary just-this-side of uncensored.
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“I’ve given it more of a multi-perspective. We’re gonna give it that 2008 flair, even though it is a 1968 setting. I’m
not changing Vietnam to Iraq—I’m letting the audience make that connection. It’s a straight-on parallel, so there’s
really no need to change it.”
As for the revolution, that’s re-emerging too—at least in the theater, where conscientious research is to these young
performers’ minds what blotter acid was to Boomers back in the day.
“The kids in the cast are 20-somethings. They’re not really aware, to a great deal, [of] free sex, drugs and [1960’s
issues]. There was more to [the era] than that. They get to embody this 1968 persona for a few hours, and not only
understand, but portray that era.”
Hair—like the decade of free love—is filled with powerful, potentially intoxicating music that Aberasturi says both
“makes you feel good and makes you think. Hair is a commentary on our society.”
David B. Parker/Local
Sweeney Todd (Rod Hearn) and Mrs. Lovett (Susan Sonnemaker) rehearse a scene on Monday from the Truckee
Meadows Community College’s production of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”
David B. Parker/Local
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“Sweeney Todd” cast members rehearse.
Paul Aberasturi has been waiting to direct "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" for more than 20
years.
"My entire master's thesis was on 'Sweeney Todd,' and a chapter in my dissertation was on 'Sweeney Todd,'" the
Truckee Meadows Community College theater instructor said. "I've never done the whole show. "» I've always
wanted to, but it wasn't the right time. I knew I had to find the right cast. I knew I had to find the right company."
Aberasturi thinks he's finally assembled the needed pieces, and he'll find out for sure when TMCC opens the Stephen
Sondheim musical on Friday.
The show relates the story of the title character, a wronged barber who goes off the deep end and begins slitting
throats in a mad quest for revenge. Aiding him is an equally off-kilter pie shop owner named Mrs. Lovett who takes
Sweeney's victims and bakes them into meat pies.
Despite Sweeney's awful deeds, he is portrayed as someone the audience can relate to and pity. The show has been
wildly popular among theater buffs for years, and it received added exposure last year when director Tim Burton
turned it into a movie with Johnny Depp in the starring role.
With the movie fresh in people's minds and Halloween just weeks away, Aberasturi decided this was the perfect time
to mount a production. But he knew it wouldn't be easy. One reason he waited decades, he said, is because "Sweeney
Todd" is just plain hard.
"In my mind, and in a lot of people's minds, it is the most difficult musical to do," he said. "I also think it's the greatest
musical ever."
Sondheim's score is revered not only for its majesty but for its technical complexity, and Reno theater veteran Rod
Hearn, who plays Sweeney for TMCC, said he's been working nonstop to get his part down.
"I'd say it's the hardest thing I've done," Hearn said. "And not by a little."
Hearn teaches drama at Damonte Ranch High School, and his spare time is so slim that he's been singing his parts in
the car.
"I listen in the car a lot," he said. "And I got to the point that I could sing the whole score in the car to the soundtrack
because they're helping "» but then when you come and you have to do it yourself, without all of that, it's sometimes a
whole different thing."
(2 of 2)
Still, Hearn thinks his work will pay off.
"I've waited since I was in high school just to be in the play," he said. "It's worth it.
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"» I think it's going to be a super-strong show."
Susan Sonnemaker -- choir director at Carson High School -- stars across from Hearn as Mrs. Lovett, and she, too,
finds the material difficult.
"Vocally and musically, it's really challenging," she said. "I mean, I'd put it right up there with Puccini."
Musical difficulty and all, Sonnemaker said the toughest part for her has been the acting.
"There are a lot of layers I think emotionally with everything that's going on," she said.
TMCC is mounting the show with a full orchestra, and a chorus, the latter of which wasn't seen in the movie.
"In the stage show, the chorus is so much involved and they have such a large part," Aberasturi said. "This is a much
fuller musical sound than people who just saw the movie with no experience to the stage (will have heard). They'll
say, 'Oh my goodness,' from the very beginning."
Aberasturi said it's been fascinating for him to finally mount the show after studying it for such a long time.
"I've had this vision for so many years, but then I have to make adjustments when I have the cast," he said. "I have
certain things in my mind but then different actors have different talents, and as a director I think it's vital to listen to
actors. "» It's probably more exciting for me that way because I'm coming in with a nice, clear, firm concept but a lot
of it is changing."
That doesn't mean, however, that the cast doesn't understand just how important this show is to its director.
"This is sort of his big thing here," said Ryan Kelly, who plays Beadle Bamford. "So, we're hoping we can pull it off
to his specifications."
Still, Hearn thinks his work will pay off. "I've waited since I was in high school just to be in the play," he said. "It's
worth it.
"» I think it's going to be a super-strong show."
Susan Sonnemaker -- choir director at Carson High School -- stars across from Hearn as Mrs. Lovett, and she, too,
finds the material difficult.
"Vocally and musically, it's really challenging," she said. "I mean, I'd put it right up there with Puccini."
Musical difficulty and all, Sonnemaker said the toughest part for her has been the acting.
"There are a lot of layers I think emotionally with everything that's going on," she said.
TMCC is mounting the show with a full orchestra, and a chorus, the latter of which wasn't seen in the movie.
"In the stage show, the chorus is so much involved and they have such a large part," Aberasturi said. "This is a much
fuller musical sound than people who just saw the movie with no experience to the stage (will have heard). They'll
say, 'Oh my goodness,' from the very beginning."
Aberasturi said it's been fascinating for him to finally mount the show after studying it for such a long time.
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"I've had this vision for so many years, but then I have to make adjustments when I have the cast," he said. "I have
certain things in my mind but then different actors have different talents, and as a director I think it's vital to listen to
actors. "» It's probably more exciting for me that way because I'm coming in with a nice, clear, firm concept but a lot
of it is changing."
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TIME WARP AGAIN
The Rocky Horror Show
By Brad Bynum
bradb@newsreview.com
More stories by this author...
This article was published on 05.21.09.
Aren’t we all just looking for an excuse to dress up in funny costumes and scream and dance? Isn’t
that what rock ’n’ roll is all about? The Rocky Horror Show is Richard O’Brien’s original 1973 stage
musical, and the inspiration for the cult classic flick The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The play,
currently being presented by Truckee Meadows Community College’s performing arts troupe is a
trashy and flamboyant celebration of life’s most pleasurable overindulgences, complete with hammy
dialogue and some catchy glam rock tunes.
The central character of The Rocky Horror Show is Dr. Frank N. Furter, a transvestite and mad
scientist with a rock star personality. In the film, the good doctor is played to memorable effect by Tim
Curry. Owen Bryant, who plays the character in TMCC’s production, has found that Curry’s
performance has left some big shoes to fill—specifically bright red vinyl go-go boots with five-inch
heels.
“I’m getting the hang of it now,” says Bryant. “My legs and feet kind of hurt after rehearsals, but it’s
definitely toned up my legs a lot. I’ve got a lot more definition and muscles.”
One advantage Bryant has is that he literally towers over the rest of the cast. He’s 6-feet-6-inches
barefoot, so in the heels and with his big beehive hairdo, he stands nearly 8 feet tall. With his long,
lean figure, he looks like a cross between Joey Ramone and Peg Bundy.
Running around in nothing but a gold thong is Frank’s “monster,” a beautiful muscleman named
Rocky, played here by John Frederick. He’s the most scantily clad cast member in a show well-known
for its scantily clad cast.
It can be a daunting task.
“There’s always the cold factor,” says Frederick. “Running around stage barefoot all the time is always
quite the challenge. … And you have to be the muscleman, so I end up being in the gym a lot, trying to
make sure I’m true to what the writers are going for.”
Just a sweet transvestite from Transexual,
Transylvania: Owen Bryant belts it out as Dr.
Frank N. Furter.
Part of the Rocky Horror experience is going to the show in costume and heckling the onstage action
with a repertoire of running gags and dumb one-liners that have accumulated at screenings of the film
over the last 30-odd years.
“It’s definitely a new experience,” says Frederick of acting during the constant barrage of audience heckles. “Because there’s funny people out there, and you have to stay in
character.”
“We love the audience responses, because it just shows that they’re enjoying it,” says Cecil Averett, who plays the show’s narrator and often interacts directly with the
audience. “Most of [the heckles] aren’t very original,” he says. “It’s been the same comments for the last 30 years. But occasionally we hear a new one.”
How has Rocky Horror maintained its appeal for so long?
“My personal opinion is that it’s because it involves the audience so much,” says Frederick. “It’s not the strongest story ever written. It’s got great, fun music, which is
always a draw. It’s that kind of music where you walk out of the theater, and it’s stuck in your head for a week.”
“The music is a lot of throwback stuff to the ‘50s,” says Bryant. “If you really listen to the chord progressions and the set-up of the songs, it’s almost like that doo wop ’50s
feel, with a bit more of that rock element added to it. It’s actually pretty innocent music, for what the show’s about.”
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Some local viewers might be tempted to draw a parallel to the Burning Man festival. Both events are beacons for folks looking to take their most bizarre clothes and desires
out of the closet. Both events try to humiliate and embarrass “virgins,” first-time attendees. The Rocky Horror Show is like a miniature Burning Man for people who like
camp more than camping.
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MONSTERS IN THE MIRROR
Bat Boy: The Musical
By Deidre Pike
More stories by this author...
This article was published on 03.10.05.
The half-human, half-nocturnal-flyingmammal’s first contact with civilization comes
from the inside of a gunny sack. After being
captured in a cave by a trio of siblings with matching
mullets, the “monster” is shoved around Hope Falls, W.
Va., in a wheelbarrow.
The hillbillies dunno what to do with the critter.
“It’s huge.”
“It’s bad.”
“It hates Fritos.”
If you liked him on the supermarket tabloid covers,
From the first few scenes of Truckee Meadows Community you’ll love him on the local stage. Bat Boy
College’s Bat Boy: The Musical, it’s clear that our fanged (Donald Pettit) charms and delights in Bat Boy:
The Musical.
friend was better off in his cavern. Humans can be cruel,
intolerant. Attribute that to lack of education or superfluity
PHOTO BY DAVID ROBERT
of religious superstition, if you want. Of course, it’s
actually the media’s fault.
“We could use it to round up cows,” one gal suggests.
“People’d pay good money to see it,” another says. “We could be the next Branson.”
“Put it down?” one townie says of killing the creature. “That’d be a waste of resources.”
Bat Boy (Donald Pettit) ends up hanging upside-down in the home of the town vet, Dr. Parker.
Parker’s wife, Meredith (Malory Engstrom), takes a liking to Bat Boy. She names him Edgar and teaches
him to speak, read and sing about Freud and Darwin in a snooty accent—all in one musical number. Think
My Fair Lady with a pointy-eared, blood-thirsty Eliza Doolittle. Add occasional feral screeching.
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I love this show.
The Bat Boy character is based on the “real-life” saga reported in that mainstay of American journalism, the
Weekly World News. Over the years, Bat Boy stories appear sandwiched between reports of Hillary
Clinton’s clandestine impregnations by extra-terrestrials and the skeletons of gay lovers found in Titanic life
rings.
Frequent WWN readers can remember back to 1992, when the 19-pound creature was captured in a West
Virginia cave. Feels like yesterday.
Since Bat Boy’s escape, the bi-species celebrity makes random public appearances. Who can forget the time
Bat Boy endorsed Al Gore in the 2000 elections? Or when, shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, Bat Boy joined the
U.S. Marines to help rout al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Easy to see why Bat Boy: The Musical is playing to rave
audiences in Europe.
TMCC’s production of the award-winning musical comedy probes Bat Boy’s early years. Encountering Bat
Boy is a life-altering experience for all, including Dr. Parker’s daughter, Shelly, played by TMCC theater
student Giana DeBeiso, 18.
“The coolest thing about being Shelly,” says DeBeiso, “is that I change from being a skanky bitch. … As I
get closer to Bat Boy, I get sweeter.”
Echolocation will do that to a girl.
DeBeiso’s favorite scene: an interspecies orgy over which Pan (arousing performance by John Frederick),
the rustic god of the forest, presides.
My favorite scene: a faith-healing, pulpit-pounding revival led by an Elvis clone with Michael Jackson
moves (rousing performance by John Frederick). Turns out that Bat Boy, despite praying, reading his Bible
and humbly surrendering himself to Jesus and the human community, can’t be healed of his bat-ness.
Just when you think things couldn’t get weirder, there’s a whole new round of tabloid bits.
Woman ravaged by burrowing bats!
Mom burns son alive!!
Mysterious cow mutilations!!!
All that’s missing are Hillary and the Titanic life ring.
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ROMAN HOLIDAY
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
By Miranda Jesch
More stories by this author...
This article was published on 09.25.03.
The Romans had silly names, or so it seems if
you count all the times their names have been
spoofed. First, I think of Monty Python’s Life of
Brian and Michael Palin’s lisping Pontius Pilate, “I have a
vewy gweat fwiend in Wome called Biggus Dickus … He
has a wife, you know … Incontinentia Buttocks.”
Second, I think of Steven Sondheim’s A Funny Thing
Happened on the Way to the Forum. The names aren’t
quite as bawdy, but they do describe their characters with
corny accuracy. There’s the slave Pseudolus, who is willing
to tell all sorts of pseudo truths to win his master, Hero, the
virgin bride, Philia, so that he may become a free man.
There’s Hero’s old-man father, Senex, and his control-freak
of a mother, Domina, who continually calls for her highHero (Tony Garcia) is not tempted by the
strung, bumbling servant, Hysterium. There’s poor, old
courtesans. He only has eyes for Philia.
Erronius, whose children were snatched from him years
ago by pirates. Finally, there’s Lycus, the courtesan dealer PHOTO BY DAVID ROBERT
and Miles Gloriosus, a warrior who has arranged to
purchase Philia from Lycus to the dismay of Hero.
For the grand opening of their Nell J. Redfield Performing
Arts Center in Keystone Square (longtime locals will remember the location as the old Keystone movie
theater and will be impressed by how it sparkled up), Truckee Meadows Community College is taking a
shot at A Funny Thing Happened. Considering it’s a mammoth production, calling for more than 30
performers who all act, dance, sing and perform stunts, the TMCC performers do an amazing job. Paul
Aberasturi directs, and Jennifer Martin is musical director for the 10-chair live orchestra.
In the lead role is Raysel Long as Pseudolus; he also choreographed. I had to check to make sure that Long
was actually a student at TMCC. I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d been told that Long was making a
guest appearance while taking a break from the same role on Broadway. He had chemistry with every actor,
he delivered every joke and line with flawless nuance, he had a powerful, distinctive voice and looked great
in a blue toga.
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When there were minor theatrical flubs, Long’s improvisational skills covered them up with poise.
Pseudolus talked about preparing a potion that would make Philia appear dead, when he tossed a scroll to
Hero (Tony Garcia) that didn’t quite make it—Long ad-libbed that he also needed to make a potion that
would help him to throw things better.
Echo Olsen seemed wholly comfortable in the ditzy and innocent role of Philia. For being an honest
virgin—"What a terrible combination,” Pseudolus said—Olsen brought fire and fervor and an operatic voice
to what could have been a lackluster role.
The set and the costumes looked like they cost a heap of money, although TMCC was probably very thrifty.
Two pink flamingos outside the house of Senex were a nice touch, as was the pimp-like costume of Lycus
(Jimi Dowdell), whose toga was lined with animal print. The actors were great, the songs were silly, the
jokes were dirty. TMCC’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a riot of a Roman holiday.
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RAISING DUST
The Grapes of Wrath
By Molly Hofmann
More stories by this author...
This article was published on 09.28.06, in RN&R.
It’s a simple dream that permeates the American
mindset—family, home, a steady income. It’s one that has
long uprooted people in search of better opportunities. John
Steinbeck brought the struggle for that dream into
heartbreaking relief in his Pultizer Prize winning novel, The
Grapes of Wrath.
Truckee Meadows Community College is bringing the
theater version of that story to the stage.
Set in 1939 on the heels of the Great Depression, the
humble Joad family rises from the Oklahoma Dust Bowl to
seek the better life they believe awaits them in California.
They board an old jalopy truck—a central stage prop—and
The Joad family, as portrayed by the TMCC
head down the road toward their idyllic vision.
theater department, leaves the Dust Bowl with
California dreams.
“My challenge is to grab my actors and stage the play in a
way that the audience will pick up Steinbeck’s ideas:
PHOTO BY DAVID ROBERT
people scorned because they are different, the importance
of family and the hypocrisies the people live their daily
lives within,” says director Paul Aberasturi. “It’s important
that I’m able to tell the story the way that John Steinbeck
would have wanted it told, which goes beyond the screenplay.”
Musician Tumbleweed Tex sets the tone throughout the production. He strums his guitar, sings and plays
harmonica to an array of period music that fits the theme and feel of America struggling to recover from the
Great Depression, drawing inspiration from people like Woody Guthrie and Jimmie Rodgers.
“My family was from Texas, and [they] went through the Dust Bowl—many still clearly remember,” says
Tumbleweed.
Dialect is critical in this play. The cast is careful to portray Oklahoma sharecroppers realistically, while
ensuring that the dialect doesn’t get in the way of enunciation.
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Bud Perry plays Tom Joad. He held minor roles in Urinetown and Rumors, and he directed his first show,
Suddenly Untamed, this summer.
“This role is a blessing and a curse,” says Perry. “The hardest part about this is being true to the character
because there is an emotional complexity. It’s hard to put myself in the shoes of somebody who is losing
their family and their sense of self. It’s the emotional factor that is most challenging but also most
rewarding.”
Perry says he hopes the audience doesn’t lose sight of our history, of “knowing where our roots came from,
especially those of us living in the West right now.”
Stacy Spain, TMCC theater and art instructor, plays Ma Joad. Ma is the glue that holds the family together
while it faces bleak circumstances. Her role is “all about restraint,” says Spain, and showing that stillness is
as important as expression.
Dale Fast, a Reno Little Theater regular, is cast in the role of Jim Casey, a former preacher and central
philosopher. Fast views his character as an “antihero” who evokes the everyman ideology onto the stage as a
“moral compass for the Joad family.”
Central to the performance is the push and pull of human emotions that can lead to rage and its
consequences. For that, the troupe relied on the experience of film expert and fight director Myrt Running
Wolf. Running Wolf gauges the actors’ reactions both physically and emotionally. One fight scene has 10
actors carefully choreographed for every move. As the fisticuffs ensue, action is on every corner of the
stage. Every punch, kick and smack against the skull is dramatized with attention to sounds, vocalizations
and facial expressions. TMCC’s production runs a little over two hours with quick-changing scenes. Many
actors play two or three characters in the performance. This talented theater group works hard to create a
memorable performance that explores the simple dream of the American mindset.
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POTTY POLITICS
Urinetown
By Stephanie Perry
More stories by this author...
This article was published on 03.09.06.
When the narrator of a musical explains in the
middle of Act 1, “Dreams are meant to be crushed.
… It’s Nature’s way,” it’s a safe bet that happy
endings are not in store. That’s certainly the case with
TMCC’s production of Urinetown, directed by Paul
Aberasturi, but you might be too busy laughing to notice.
In a city on the outskirts of Urinetown, decades of drought
have led to strict—some might say oppressive—measures
to control water use. Citizens must pay to use “Public
Amenities,” which are controlled by a large corporate
entity known as UGC (Urine Good Company). Old Man
Strong, lacking the money to use the public restroom,
defiantly relieves himself against the Public Amenity wall
From left, Little Sally (Susan Lang), Miss
and is promptly hauled off to Urinetown by Officer
Pennywise (Pilar Lavelle), Hope (Summer
Lockstock, one of the town’s two policemen.
Schopper) and Bobby (John Frederick) take on
Urinetown.
Urinetown is a mysterious and sinister place because
nobody who goes there is ever seen again. Strong’s son,
PHOTO BY DAVID ROBERT
Bobby, who works for the Public Amenity, leads a riot
against the corporate system while unwittingly falling in
love with the CEO’s beautiful and naïve daughter, Hope
Cladwell. Can their love survive the bitter conflict between
the townspeople and the corporation? Will Bobby’s rebellion overthrow the corrupt UGC? Well, of course
not. This isn’t a happy musical, remember?
This Tony Award-winning play features plenty of razor-edged humor and clever, self-aware dialogue.
Officer Lockstock, as the narrator, helpfully provides exposition, explains how musicals work and
disillusions idealistic characters as needed.
The musical numbers, too, are playfully tongue-in-cheek, as in “Mr. Cladwell,” where the fawning, pocketprotector-wearing staff of UGC performs a hilarious choreographed routine with their clipboards. Sly winks
to other musicals abound, such as the noisy, percussive “Cop Song,” which gives a nod to Stomp by using
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flashlights, billy clubs and cans to create rhythm and music.
Urinetown also boasts some remarkable performances. Rod Hearn is outstanding as Officer Lockstock; it’s
not an exaggeration to say that his deadpan delivery and brutal cynicism anchor the show. Susan R. Lang is
excellent as Little Sally, a wide-eyed and warm-hearted little girl whose sweetness and innocence routinely
get torn to shreds by Lockstock. Summer Schopper, who plays Hope Cladwell, uses her voice to great
effect, both in her breathy little-girl delivery and her strong vocals.
Due to the layout of the small black-box theater, some distractions can interrupt the audience member’s
experience. The Redfield venue has seating on three sides, but the blocking is aimed toward the center seats.
Between musical numbers, theater-goers sitting on either side frequently find themselves unable to see the
action, as the dancers are often in the way. Also, while Carolyn Wray’s grungy urban costumes are colorful
and fun, the actors’ makeup is overdone to the point of garishness—and in a theater this small, it’s
unnecessary as well as impossible not to notice.
But there’s so much to like about this production that it seems like nitpicking to note its few flaws.
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TRIPLE THREAT THEATER
A Broadway Revue
By Jessica Santina
More stories by this author...
This article was published on 04.10.08.
I think we can all agree that it’s great that Broadway
“Comes to Reno” every year. But how many times can you
stand to watch Annie, really? Or Oklahoma or Phantom of
the Opera, for God’s sake? With the appearance ad
nauseam of such staples, one might start to believe that all
musical theater comes from Rodgers and Hammerstein or
Andrew Lloyd Webber.
But as TMCC’s Musical Theatre Touring Company has
continually demonstrated in its year and a half of existence,
to our great relief, those plays barely scratch the surface of
what musical theater is all about. For their upcoming show,
called simply A Broadway Revue, MTT has rounded up a
couple of dozen pieces from shows most locals have
probably never seen, and some that many might not have
even heard of: Assassins, Altar Boyz, Avenue Q, Sweeney
Todd, Spring Awakening, Carousel, Urinetown, Sweet
Charity, A New Brain, The Wiz and short theatrical pieces
by the Neo-Futurists playwright collective.
From left, Lauren Logan, Susan Lang and Amanda
Hallstein are a triple threat within A Broadway
Revue.
PHOTO BY DAVID ROBERT
Related website:
www.tmcc.edu/vparts/seasonschedule
“Nothing against the ‘golden age of theater,’ but you can
see those old shows anywhere,” says Paul Aberasturi, Chair
of TMCC’s Visual and Performing Arts department. “There’s a whole new generation of stuff coming out,
and that’s what’s driving theater forward. We wanted to push our students to learn these things for when
they’re out there auditioning, and we want to push the audience to try something new.”
The performers are being pushed in a lot of ways, actually, according to company manager John Frederick,
who, as one of Revue’s 17 cast members, explains that MTT forces students to become a “triple threat.”
“These students will be able to walk into any audition because they’ll have acting, singing and dancing
experience, and that’s really what it takes these days,” says Frederick.
As choreographer Catherine Eardley points out, it takes tremendous skill and endurance to boast this wealth
of experience. “To really belt out a song, and play a character, and dance takes a lot out of you. It’s
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incredibly difficult; so I tell my students that they’re athletes, and they have to keep their
tools in great shape, because it takes a lot of endurance.”
Plus, they have to shift with lightning speed. In one minute, the men play to the crowd as
the fictitious Christian boy band “Altar Boyz,” shaking their hips and making the girls
swoon, and, in the next minute, the tone is somber as these same men join the rest of the cast in an eerie tune
from Sweeney Todd. They shift on a dime, without the aid of set or costume changes for mood, meaning that
they must utterly be their characters.
“As a touring company, we have to be portable,” says Frederick. “That’s why we don’t rely on sets or
costumes. It makes for quicker transitions from scene to scene, and it’s really helping the actors to become
better, because they have to. We have to razzle-dazzle them ourselves.”
So far their plan is working. The Redfield Performing Arts Center, where the majority of their shows take
place, is a great, intimate setting, but the overwhelming crowds they typically attract can’t all fit in.
Frederick says that for Hair, the troupe’s last production, 60 to 80 folks each night got turned away at the
door.
“When people leave our shows, they say how surprised they are that it felt so professional,” says Frederick.
“We’re not just your typical student theater.”
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I’ll never forget the children’s lit class I took in graduate school,
when first I discovered the horror of Grimms’ fairy tales. Having
been brought up, like many, on the stuff of Disney, I was shocked to
learn that Cinderella’s stepmother actually cut off pieces of her
daughters’ feet in order to make them fit into the golden slipper.
And did you know that, in The Little Mermaid, when our heroine
finally gets her beautiful legs, she also gets the pain of forever
walking on swords and feet that constantly bleed? Oh, and my
personal favorite: In Snow White, the girl’s jealous mother actually
tries to eat her.
In an attempt to have some fun with these morbid lessons, Stephen
Sondheim and James Lapine teamed up to write Into the Woods,
which TMCC Performing Arts now faithfully presents under the
direction of department chair Paul Aberasturi, a die-hard Sondheim
devotee.
The convoluted plot involves one basic premise: A baker (Adam
Machart) and his wife (Megan Smith) are unable to have the baby
they desperately want. A witch (Jenny O) magically appears,
explaining that there was, long ago, a curse placed on the baker’s
family that none in his line could have a child. She promises to lift
the curse if the two will go on a scavenger hunt for a milky white
cow, a blood-red cape, corn-yellow hair and a golden slipper. So off
the two go into the woods to undo the curse.
The Baker and his Wife, played by
Adam Machart and Megan Smith, hash
it out in their kitchen for TMCC's
production of Into the Woods.
PHOTO BY AUDREY LOVE
Into the Woods will be performed Oct.
22, 23, 28, 29, 30 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct.
24, 31 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $17 general
Their quest takes them on a path that crosses many of the Grimms’ admission; $15 students; $10 TMCC
most beloved characters, including a delightfully silly and stupid
students/seniors. Visit www.showtix4u.com or
Little Red Riding Hood (Annie Evans); a desperate Cinderella on the call 789-5671.
run (Sabrina Kales); a down-on-his-luck Jack with magic beans (Kiet
Cao); a pitiful, put-upon Rapunzel (Holly Laguna); and a couple of
philandering Prince Charmings (Evan Harris and Andrew Collins).
Happily ever after is attained—then lost—a giant shows up, chaos
reigns, and then happily ever after is regained.
While the story remains true to many of the Grimms’ tales, it turns them on their heads by giving the
characters smart-ass retorts and story-awareness that makes the show quite a bit more adult than those
original morality tales, and yet a lot less horrifying.
Of course, being a Sondheim show, the songs rely on flat, minor keys with tunes that defy memorability yet
incorporate some truly funny lyrics. Even now, I struggle to remember any tunes but one. “Agony,” sung by
the Prince Charming duet, who lament their bad luck in romantic matters, is the funniest, most memorable,
most enjoyable piece of the entire show, and both Collins, as Cinderella’s prince, and Harris, as Rapunzel’s,
are always captivating.
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While I’m not really a fan of Sondheim’s music, that’s no reflection on the students’ performances, which
are consistently strong. In particular, Smith, Kales and Cao have outstanding voices. And Annie Evans’ Red
Riding Hood is, aside from the princes, the most fun character to watch, due mostly to her big smile as she
delivers her character’s idiotic observations.
There are also plenty of laughs almost through to the end, at which point, things come to a halt when a few
overly melancholy numbers, performed in the dark, had me—I am ashamed to admit—almost nodding off.
Thank goodness for the rousing finale.
And praise must be paid to the production design. It seems like the members of this company are constantly
outdoing themselves. From the tree-lined path to the stars that actually twinkle, and from Cinderella’s ball
gown to the Big Bad Wolf’s … um … anatomy, all the details really do make you feel completely absorbed
into the woods.
Adam Machart, and Megan Smith play the Baker and Baker's Wife as Jenny Oxier plays the Witch during TMCC's
production of "Into the Woods." (Credit: Liz Margerum / RGJ)
'Into the Woods' a fairy tale for all
TMCC produces Sondheim's hilarious, award-winning musical
I am a big fan of “Into the Woods” and wanted to love TMCC’s production of the revered Stephen
Sondheim musical.
Friday’s opening night performance didn’t disappoint, from energetic songs to funnier-than-they-should be
bird props.
Debuting on Broadway in 1986, the acclaimed play is often produced by smaller companies. Its narrative
weaves many familiar fairy tales together with a main arc about a childless couple and the witch who
meddles in their lives.
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Performing Arts
The stories of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Bean Stalk, and Rapunzel, aren’t cameos —
the characters they introduce are tied to the main plot and stick around until fate removes them — and the
story has a lot of fun with the tropes and clichés of fairy tales.
I’ve seen enough local plays during the past couple years that a TMCC show feels familiar as most of the
cast at first seem like refugees from other fiction.
This isn’t a complaint so much as it is an unavoidable fact of local theater. It may be a little distracting, but
it’s also comforting, because these people have done well in the past.
The ensemble cast has no dead weight. There’s no chorus, and most supporting roles have the spotlight
shine on them for at least a moment.
All the principals deliver. Annie Evans embodies naïve exuberance and petulance as Little Red Riding
Hood, does a great job on signature song “I Know Things Now,” and is actually much more enjoyable than
the character in the 1991 televised production.
Kiet Cao’s Jack shoulders a lot of the humor but comes across as a lonely lad instead of a cut-out dunce.
The Witch, the narrative catalyst and arguably most important role, is gracefully handled by Jenny O.
Transitioning from hag to haughty, she is dastardly without being off-putting.
The actors make the tale enjoyable throughout the two-and-a-quarter hour running time and heavier second
act. They think on their feet when a pyrotechnic refuses to light. Their comic timing is excellent but their
dramatic skills make the plights sympathetic.
“Into the Woods” is not a shallow fantasy revue, but a funny exploration of somber themes, often centering
on wish-fulfillment and persistent discontent despite being cosmetically, romantically or economically
better off.
Characters don’t learn pat morals and then shrug, and many don’t seem to learn at all, but the story can lead
to serious reflection if one is so inclined.
Of course, it does all that with amazing songs that the cast also handles adeptly.
Soaring show tunes like “Moments in the Woods” and “On the Steps of the Palace” are joined by the rapidfire wordplay of the Witch’s prologue solo and two princes’ overwrought, hilarious “Agony.”
At the beginning of the show, when every voice rang, the mixture overwhelmed, turning it into a muddy
wall of sound, but this issue faded by the second half.
Enabling all of this vocal magic is the live band, lead by conductor Theodore Owens. The players were
obscured more than usual by the spectacular set that shows off the versatile space and what perfect lighting
can do for hand-made trees.The songs stuck in your head are thanks to the cast, but “Into the Woods” is
magical in every other area, too.