When we think of theater we usually have images of curtains, large audiences and colorful atmosphere. A good theater is a great selling point for any college, especially liberal arts colleges. The theater at Cabrini, however, is not up to par with what Cabrini could do with it.
I’ve always been a fan of musicals and plays done on stage. When my friends convinced me to try out for one of the plays last year I was excited, until I saw our theater.
Usually theaters have some air of professionalism when you look at them. Cabrini’s theater looks like someone’s basement, and that feel can really hurt productions done there. The basement feel takes away the professional air that plays need to be successful.
Because the theater is set in a small room, the stage is also small. With larger stages a production can be made more exciting since there is room for more action. They plays here can come off as dull since there really isn’t enough room for dances or multiple actors coming out at once.
I walk around campus and notice the new plasma monitors located in Founders Hall. When I see these monitors I think to myself, “Shouldn’t Cabrini be spending money on important things?” The theater would have benefited greatly from the money spent on those monitors which aren’t really needed.
I have heard that there are plans to move the theater into the main area of Grace Hall. This move would really help the theater by making the theater seem more attractive, unlike that dark basement-like room.
Cabrini should have moved the theater a while ago; a good theater can pay for itself. Good theaters will attract larger audiences meaning that there would be a larger profit for Cabrini. A good theater can also attract new students who are planning on acting in college.
I might not be an actor, but I played in my high school band and acted once here. When you are on stage in front of a large audience, you get this feeling that what you are doing really matters and you try to perform your best. In front of a small crowd, like we have at Cabrini, you don’t get that feeling and you feel that if you mess up it won’t matter.
All in all, if Cabrini would stop spending money on new monitors and fields and actually started taking our theater seriously, the college as a whole would benefit. All Cabrini really needs to do is get a larger stage and put in Grace Hall where they could fit more people. After a couple of productions the theater would have paid for itself and would turn out a profit for Cabrini which it could then use for stuff like fields and monitors.
