The Columbia Chronicle

Theatre Department’s ‘elephant in the room’ sparks discussion on safe spaces and cancel culture

May 18, 2020

After presenting their play in the "Playwriting: Advanced" class on Zoom, Estefania Unzueta was stunned when the instructor began to compare one of the Latinx characters in the play to the film term...

Theatre students turn to online spaces to salvage canceled productions as their classes also move online in the coronavirus-induced digital age.

The show must go on for Columbia’s theatre classes and shows

April 29, 2020

On her phone, Claire McConnell keeps a list of cabaret ideas. Last semester, she planned to make one of them a reality by creating a cabaret concert that uses only hit songs by the Swedish supergroup ABBA. ...

Columbia looks toward intimacy directing to fill industry, campus need

March 27, 2020

The script reads: "Two characters are having an affair and decide to run away together. Talk leads to touch and a romantic embrace." Kasi Moreno, a junior ASL-English interpretation major with an acti...

AnJi White (pictured) was nominated for The Ethel Waters Award for Best Actress in an Ensemble for her role in

Columbia theatre community honored in 25th annual Black Theatre Alliance Awards

September 20, 2019

Editor's Note: In addition to her nomination for the show "Caroline, or Change," Breanne Jacobs works as a media sales rep for the Chronicle. AnJi White was not aware of the Black Theatre Alliance A...

(Clockwise from top left) The Theatre Department’s Khalid Long, Carin Silkaitis, Jacqueline Penrod and Noelle Humbert discuss the upcoming season.

Theatre Department shifts toward more diverse and engaging productions

September 2, 2019

After student backlash for a lack of diversity in previous productions, Columbia’s Theatre Department will focus exclusively on “everyday people” who are overlooked by society for its upcoming 2...

Carin Silkaitis—a former associate professor and head of acting in the Theatre Department at North Central College in Naperville—will take on the role of chair in Columbia’s Theatre Department Aug. 16.

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...

Interim Chair of the Theatre Department Peter Carpenter will be leaving the college as of June 28 for a job at the University of Florida.

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 ...

Kristiana Rae Colón, Madeline Moore Burrell playwright-in-residence.

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...

The Federal Emergency Management Agency sent the first

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 ...

Liliana June-Lotero (left) and Will Pettway are attempting to raise awareness with their J-Term course project on discrimination in the Theatre Department

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...