BY: CLARICE ARNOLD// Kalamalama Staff
The Theatre Arts play an important part in all of our lives. Without it, we wouldn’t have Hamilton, Criminal Minds or The Marvel universe. Theatre can be traced back as early as the 6th century BCE. It has been in our lives for centuries and influences us everyday. New York and California are the hotspots for actors, but what do those living in Hawaii do if they are interested in acting? Well they could come to Hawaii Pacific University, but currently there is a lack of theatre classes at HPU, and I believe that with more classes, we can get more interest in theatre here at Hawaii Pacific University.
I spoke with Professor Emily Stapleton, Lecturer in Theatre at HPU, on her input. I conducted the interview over email.
The first thing to consider is how many students currently are interested in theatre.
“ Approximately how many students are currently enrolled as theatre majors?”
“There are currently 3 students enrolled as
Arts & Markets majors with a concentration in Theatre.”
“ Approximately how many students currently have theatre as their minor?”
“ I would have to check on this number with
my program director, but I think there are approximately 4 minors.”
“How many students do you have across all your theatre classes?”
“ I have a total of 60 students enrolled in all of my theatre classes.”
“How many students participated in the play?”
“ 15 students participated in the play — cast members, designers, and tech.”
There is clearly some interest in the theatre department. I believe that if we had more variety of courses, we could generate more interest. Not all students who are in the theatre classes are theatre majors. Some are theatre minors or in other areas of study such as cinematic multimedia art, music or visual arts. Many students in the theatre program have specialized interests. Personally I am interested in film acting, some students are interested in musical theatre and some are interested in the technical aspects of theatre. However we do not currently offer any courses focused in those areas.
“What theatre classes are currently offered?”
“The theatre courses currently offered that I’m teaching are:
Acting 1, Acting 2, Directing,
Theatre Performance and Theatre Laboratory.”
According to HPU’s online catalog, they are supposed to offer a bigger variety of courses including THEA 1000 – Introduction to Theatre, THEA 1400 – Introduction to Technical Theatre, THEA 4900 – Seminar in Theatre, THEA 3600 – Advanced Technical Theatre, and THEA 3500 – Applied Technical Theatre Prerequisite: THEA 1400. These courses would cover a broader range of interests within the theatre concentration.
I also asked Professor Stapleton about what courses she would be interested in teaching in the future. This is what she had to say.
“What classes would you like to teach in the future?/what classes would you like to see be offered in the future?
“There are so many courses I would love to teach… Dramatic Literature, Script Analysis, Scene Study, Improv, Sketch Comedy (Acting & Writing), Writing for Actors, Writing a One-Act Play & Solo Performance. Other courses I would love to see offered are Intro to Technical Theatre, Advanced courses in Technical Theatre (including Scenic Design, Lighting Design, Costume Design, Sound Design, Prop Shop),Stage Combat, Voice, & Movement… to name a few!”
All of these courses sound very interesting to me and if I wasn’t about to graduate, I would definitely take these courses. They cover such a broad range of subjects for anyone interested in theatre. Lastly I asked Professor Stapleton an important question.
“What improvements would you like to see in the theatre department in the future?”
“I’d like to see a much larger variety of classes offered — and hopefully, down the road, more faculty hired to support more classes. I’d also like more performance opportunities for students — both onstage and behind the scenes. It would be wonderful if we could start building a student-led community of theater practitioners who are working on various projects throughout the semester.”
These changes could significantly improve the theatre department. Professor Stapleton has only been teaching at HPU since Fall 2022 but she has made many positive changes already. I can easily say she is my favorite professor and many of her students would agree. But besides helping current students interested in theatre, how else could an improved theatre department help the student body?
UH Manoa is located just 3 miles from HPU and offers a much better variety of theatre courses. According to their website “The programs in Theatre and Performance Studies include 14 full-time faculty members who teach over 40 courses per semester. The theatre program has approximately 50 undergraduate majors, 38 masters candidates, and 15 PhD students. Students come from around the globe to study theatre at UHM.” With all that, why would theatre students study at HPU?
What I do like at HPU is that the classes are smaller, meaning teachers can get to know each of their students, really be able to help them and understand them. I think that is something UH Manoa doesn’t have.
Students interested in theatre could also go to a specialized institution, like many famous actors. Schools such as New York University; Tisch School of the Arts, the Juilliard School and The Los Angeles Film School. The problem is that many of these schools require students to audition and you may not even get in. This may not be appealing to those who are still undecided, those who don’t have much acting experience or those who are interested in theatre but not as a career/ their major. So many student turn to programs such as HPU’s to get a sense of theatre, to learn more about it, to explore it. They can get a better idea of what areas they are interested in by having more options, more areas of study to explore.
Hawaii Pacific University will always prioritize majors such as nursing, business and marine science, but if they invest a bit more love and care into the theatre department, it could benefit everyone her at HPU.
