theatre department – The Chronicle

New theatre chair sets the stage for social change

July 1, 2019

When Carin Silkaitis was in high school, her English instructor gave the class a choice for their final exam—they could write an essay, or perform a section of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Adorn...

Theatre Department Interim Chair departs from college

May 15, 2019

Interim Chair of the Theatre Department Peter Carpenter announced his departure from the college. His last day will be June 30. In a May 15 email to The Chronicle, Carpenter said he was offered a po...

EDITORIAL: Columbia theater must set a better example

April 29, 2019

A play called “HOME/LAND” was performed March 13–23 on campus in partnership with the Albany Park Theater Project; since its run, accusations of racism and whitewashing—where white characters ...

Inaugural fellowship invites inclusion to Theatre Department

March 11, 2019

Cultural inclusion and diversity have been longtime goals of the Theatre Department and the tradition continues this semester through the Madeleine Moore Burrell Playwriting Fellowship. The fellowship...

One classroom’s experience during presidential alert system

October 5, 2018

The buzzing and beeping of cell phones rang throughout the otherwise silent "Introduction to Journalism" classroom Oct. 3. It was a historic disruption for adjunct professor Peter VonBuol and his students. The Federal Emergency Management Agency sent the very first �...

Alumni creates untold LGBTQ history podcast

February 3, 2018

In the 1950s, a secret organization worked to bring together gay people from all over and created political actions for LGBTQ rights. It was called the Mattachine Society. Devlyn Camp, a 2014 cinema art and science alumni, created a podcast titled “Mattachine” and posted the ...

Documentary-style project alleges discrimination in Theatre Department

January 21, 2018

A documentary-style project for the “Art Activism Community Project” J-Term course by a group of students alleges instances of discrimination by members of the Theatre Department based on students’ physical appearance. Liliana June-Lotero, a junior business and entrepreneur...

Waterparks: Not just slides

November 20, 2017

After listening to Sum 41 on the radio when he was a child, Awsten Knight was drawn to playing music. He met two other musicians, and the three realized they knew each other from a birthday party at a wate...

Obama discusses vision, designs for Presidential Center

By Eric Bradach

May 3, 2017

In his second public appearance since leaving the Oval Office, former President Barack Obama discussed the upcoming Obama Presidential Center.The 44th president unveiled conceptual designs for the center—set to be built in Jackson Park by 2021–on May 3 along with Dina Griffin, an architect with Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, which designed the center. While at the South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore...

Local publishing company shows diversity through children’s books

By Kendrah Villiesse

April 17, 2017

Searching nearby libraries and bookstores, Joy Triche was on a mission to find books that depicted protagonists with whom her three children could identify.Disappointed in her findings, Triche found onl...

Theatre mainstage productions to include Spring 2017 class, students voice concerns

October 31, 2016

A group of more than 30 students gathered at a forum to voice concerns and raise questions after receiving a Theatre Department email Oct. 19. The email stated that students must enroll in a course if they ...

Students, alumni, faculty ‘ban together’ against censorship

By Campus Reporter

October 3, 2016

In a small room in the back of Wicker Park’s Davenport Piano Bar Sept. 26, performers, including Columbia students and alumni, squeezed onto the small stage to act out 14 scenes with censored content previously deemed unworthy for theater. The censored content performed at the bar, 1383 N. Milwaukee Ave., is part of “Banned Together: A Censorship Cabaret” and was chosen after being challenged or banned by schools and...