Show goes on despite theater construction

“Our Town” will be showing at the Lowry Lab Theatre
in St. Paul from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1.

By Amanda Prouty

While the current NCC construction has taken over the Fine Arts building and theater, the directors and actors are still in good spirits.

Currently there are virtually no areas designated to the performance courses, nor is there a place for the cast to rehearse for the fall production of “Our Town."

This poses quite an interesting situation for director Anne Byrd and the 17 cast members. They have been found rehearsing in the Japanese Garden Lounge as well as the Tai Chi room. This constant change in location has put an interesting spin on the play; however, no one seems to be grumbling.

When asked about how the students of the theater department were reacting, Director Byrd said, “The students are being troupers, they are being respectful and are trying to work as efficiently as possible.”

Because the construction will not be done until later this winter, Byrd had to find another location for this fall’s performance.

“It was quite an endeavor to find a place that was available and affordable,” Byrd states. After a long search, Byrd decided on the Lowry Lab Theatre located in downtown St. Paul.
“It is a relatively new theatrical space, however, it is a very small theatre – it seats about 80 people,” said Byrd.

This is significantly smaller than NCC’s theater, which holds around 240 people.
“Our Town” will be showing at the Lowry Lab Theatre from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1.

Those who would like to see the performance are encouraged to purchase their tickets beforehand. Interestingly enough, this poses another problem.

The box office, where people would normally purchase their tickets, is in the midst of the construction area as well. Student worker and box office assistant, Ashleigh Swenson has experienced this dilemma first hand. While she says she enjoys being tucked in with the producers because of they are “fantastic people,” she also states, “it’s testing because where I used to be I had a phone and computer – which provided me with more to do that was box office related.”

Now Swenson is more of the producer’s secretary, doing things like paper work, etc, none of which she minds.

Swenson is also performing in “Our town.” When asked about how she feels about the theatre relocation, she discussed the fact that the places they have been using to practice are also being used for different courses.

She also mentions that they probably will not be on the stage until a week before the production. She does mention, however, that “Our Town” was a “good show to pick for this production because a lot of it is miming, so we don’t really have a need for a set.”

Performers have not really had to give up any rehearsal time when it comes to the lack of a stage. Things have simply been a little different and a tad bit more difficult.

Both Byrd and Swenson seemed good spirited and lighthearted when they talked about the theatre relocation. Neither of them bore hard feelings or discontent with the situation and both felt that as a group everyone seemed to look at it as a learning experience.

Swenson states that it hasn’t been too much of a problem because, “the directors did a really good job explaining what would happen at the end of last year, and really prepared us for this chaos.”

While the theatre itself isn’t being worked on, it will be made more efficient and there will be more space and a larger accommodation for students.

Byrd feels that the best thing is that there will be classrooms that are designated for performance courses.

“I couldn’t be more delighted to have these classrooms. They can only improve the instruction of our courses, and that is what we are about,” said Byrd. “There is a light at the end of the tunnel. It is a little hard right now, but in the end it will be better.”