91社区

Theatre performance major takes on director role

by Aubrey Swart '22

Amelia Schmitz 鈥� current theatre performance major at 91社区 鈥� aspires to be a professional actor, and this semester she has taken on her most challenging role yet: director. In spring of this year, 91社区 announced that it would be accepting show proposals from students who wished to direct a production at the university. Schmitz 鈥� who has been wanting to direct a show since her freshman year at 91社区听鈥� wasted no time in seizing the opportunity. She submitted a proposal to direct a show titled These Shining Lives, and shortly after her proposal was selected, plans were made for her to direct the show this fall.

These Shining Lives is a historical production centered around the women that painted watch faces at Radium Dial in Ottawa, Illinois during the early 1900s. Radium Dial taught the women to use a lip-point painting method, which required the women to put their paint brushes in their mouths before painting the numbers on the watches. During this time period, the lip-point painting method was deemed safe because people believed radium had medicinal applications; however, years of using radium proved be extremely harmful for the women and many suffered from radium poison, an insufferable and terminal illness. So, the production follows the dial-painters as they stand up against Radium Dial because the company knew about the dangers of radium and chose to exploit the workers anyway.听

The historical significance of These Shining Lives proved to be Schmitz鈥檚 greatest asset as well as challenge as she directed the show. On the one hand, Schmitz described how conducting historical research for this production was one of her favorite parts of the process. 鈥淭hese women are truly amazing,鈥� Schmitz explained. 鈥淭hey helped change the legal system for employees and create a safer work environment for the future.鈥�

鈥淣o matter what, my ultimate dream job is being a part of the process of telling stories that make people think. The worlds and characters theatre create are so important and reflect our lives and the world around us. With this degree, I want to tell stories that show people their value and ultimately give God glory no matter the story.鈥�

- Amelia Schmitz, Director, These Shining Lives

On the other hand, the time period in which the show is set creates more challenging dialogue for the actors. 鈥淚 have found moments of the dialogue challenging since sometimes the characters speak more poetical,鈥� Schmitz admitted. 鈥淚t has been challenging dissecting those lines and helping the actors understand them, but overall, it has helped me grow as a director and an artist.鈥�

Overall, Schmitz seemed confident in the work she and her cast put into the production. 鈥淚 have been loving rehearsing with my cast. They are a very talented group of actors and I love seeing how the show grows every time we rehearse. Just getting to guide a story as it comes to life is a priceless experience.鈥�

These Shining Lives will run Thursday, November 17^th, through Sunday, November 20^th. The show will be at the 91社区 Performance Center at 7 PM every night, except Sunday, November 20^th, which will be at 2 PM. Tickets are available for purchase online and 91社区 students can attend for free if they arrive 1 hour prior to the start of the show - subject to availability.

Faculty Achievements

Click here to see more achievements from the College of Liberal Arts.

Dr. Kristin LaFollette, Assistant Professor of English, gave a presentation entitled "Toward a Humanistic Approach in Medical Education鈥� at the 2022 Indiana College English Association (ICEA) Conference in Indianapolis. LaFollette was also voted in as secretary for the organization.

Jennifer Horn, Instructor of English, gave a presentation entitled " Folklore & FYE: Building Community through Created Traditions鈥� at the Annual Meeting of the American Folklore Society in Tulsa, OK.

Dr. David O鈥橬eil published two peer-reviewed articles: "Syntax, Prosody, and the Brut: Continuity in the Medieval English Alliterative Tradition." and "Social Integration and Campus Internationalization Through Performing Arts Volunteerism."

Sara Christensen Blair, Professor of Art and Chair of the Art and Design Department, and colleagues represented the 91社区 Art and Design Department by presenting at the 78th Annual Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC) in Baltimore on October 26-29, 2022.

Sara Christensen Blair presented 鈥淭he Sweet and Subtle Smashing of the Status Quo 鈥� Not Just a Pile of Candy.鈥� Dr. Gregory Blair, Assistant Professor of Art and Design, presented 鈥淪treet Art and the Disruption of the Expected.鈥� Virginia Poston, Instructor in Art History, presented 鈥淭he Invisible Celts: A Neglected European Tradition.鈥� Chuck Armstrong, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, presented 鈥淧reparing Students to Flourish in a Digital World: The Importance of Learning to Code or Script.鈥� Nancy Raen-Mendez, Instructor in Art, presented 鈥淭he Unpainted.鈥� Robert Millard-Mendez, Professor of Art, presented 鈥淪pectacles of the Sublime: Monsters in Contemporary Sculpture.鈥澨�