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A look at theater, art.
Theater program still somewhat unknown
by Bonnie Langford
Battalion reporter
With the start of a new sea
son, members of the theater arts
program are looking forward to
a good year, but few other stu
dents at Texas A&M even know
the program exists.
"I always think about 'Horton
Hears a Who,'" says Vicki
Anderson, a senior theater arts
major, "but we're the ones on
that fluff yelling and no one at
A&M knows we're here."
The theater arts degree is rela
tively new. The English depart
ment did not offer the degree
until 1977, but interest in theater
has been with Texas A&M since
its beginning.
In 1893 the first group of stu
dents interested in theater orga
nized the College Drama Socie
ty. Interest in drama never
waned, but groups changed.
Play groups lasted only from
season to season until 1946,
when the Aggie Players formed.
And with Aggie Players came a
desire for theater courses.
"The demand began for
(theater arts) courses in the early
1950s," says Robert Wenck,
associate professor of English
and faculty adviser for Aggie
Players.
The Aggie Players and the
theater arts courses offered by
the English department even
tually evolved into the theater
arts degree.
So, two outlets are available
for student involvement in
plays: through Aggie Players
and through the theater arts
program. The Aggie Players'
first production — "Cowboy
Mouth" by Sam Shepard — will
be presented Oct. 8 and 9. The
theater arts program's first pro
duction is running now.
Non-theater majors who
want to participate in produc
tions may do so through Aggie
Players, which is now the stu
dent organization for the theater
arts program. But the theater
arts program also allows stu
dents in other majors to work
with productions, says Mary
Anne Mitchell, assistant profes
sor of English who is in charge of
voice, acting and directing for
the theater arts program. Stu
dents may audition for parts or
help with the sets and costumes,
she says.
Anderson says in drama, stu
dents have to be involved.
"You have to be dedicated,"
she says, "because it takes a lot
of time. We're supposed to
spend 30 hours a wee* on pro
duction."
Mark Mitchell, another stu
dent in the program, agrees that
it is very time consuming.
"This is your life," he says.
"It cuts into your study time and
your social life. Practices are
held for three hours every night
of the week except
Wednesday."
Anderson says with four pro
ductions this school year, the
theater arts program doesn't
waste time. Tryouts for the first
play, "What the Butler Saw," by
Joe Orten, were held the first
week of school. The play
opened Wednesday night and
runs through Saturday,
The other three pays to be
produced in 1983-84 are: "Sum
mer and Smoke" by Tennessee
Williams, "Romeo and Juliet”
by William Shakespeare and
"Death Takes a Holiday" by
Alberto Casello.
Mary Anne Mitchell says stu
dents will compete in the Amer
ican College Theater Festival in
October with "Summer and
Smoke.” The competition
allows students to see what
other schools are doing in dra
ma, she says. Texas A&M stu
dents will compete at the area
level at Lubbock in acting, set
design and costuming.
Anderson says acting is not
the only thing students in thea
ter arts learn. The department
produces everything from cos
tumes to sets for the plays.
"The degree isn't too special
ized," she says. "We're sup
posed to do everything. We
nave the facilities to teach all the
areas of theater. We even have a
sewing classroom with six sew
ing machines for costuming.
The only hassle is not having the
facilities close to the theater."
Wenck, who does most of the
directing for the productions,
says Rudder Theater's distance
from the theater arts facilities is a
problem, as is having to share
the theater with other groups
and events.
"It's not like when we had
Giuon," Wenck says.
Giuon Hall was the first audi
torium at Texas A&M. It was
built in 1916 and housed the
Aggie Players' productions and
practices. The building was
razed in 1971 to make room for
Rudder Theater Complex,
where the theater arts produc
tions are given now.
Mitchell says the money to
fund all the theater productions,
which provides practical experi
ence for the students, comes
from the English department,
season subcriptions, advertising
sales and University Bookstore
funds. Season subscriptions
offer four productions for the
price of three. Subscriptions are:
$9 for students, $10.50 for facul
ty and $12 for others. Texas
A&M students may also become
a patron for $25, a sponsor for
$40 or a benefactor for $60.
Enrollment in the program
has doubled in the past three
years, she says, and this prob
ably will continue. This growth
has been a factor in wanting a
separate department, she adds.
"There is a proposal to origin
ate a department of speech com
munications and theater arts for
next semester," she says. "It is
currently being reviewed by
committees for approval."
A college of fine arts may even
appear in Texas A&M's future,
Mitchell adds hopefully.
Already, she says, little pockets
of fine arts courses have
appeared.
It looks like Texas A&M may
soon hear WhovvVle.
Lack of visual arts studies a'disadvantage'
by Robin Black
Battalion reporter
Student interest in art at
Texas A&M has grown rapidly
in the last few years, as indi
cated by enrollment in visual
arts classes and participation in
student art organizations. But
some professors involved with
art-related classes see a need for
much more.
Environmental design pro
fessor Joe Hutchinson says he
feels that the lack of visual arts
classes at Texas A&M is a dis
advantage to the University.
"There is a need for a visual
studies program here," he says.
"Visual arts is a natural out
growth of an environmental de
sign program such as the one
here at Texas A&M."
Hutchinson says the Univer
sity is losing potential students
because of the lack of a visual
studies program.
"I've received many letters
from high school students who
want to come to Texas A&M,"
he says, "who are interested in a
visual studies program. Since
we don't have one here, the only
thing I can do is recommend to
them one of the other universi
ties that does have that kind of a
program."
Dr. John J. McDermott, dis
tinguished professor of philoso
phy and medical humanities,
who teaches a course entitled
the Philosophy of Art, says he
deplores the lack of arts courses
offered at the University.
"A University like Texas
A&M should have an arts prog
ram," McDermott says. "Arts
should be the at the center of a
university. A university without
the detail of art is not a universi
ty at all."
Among the art classes offered
at the University, which Hutch
inson desribes as "very li
mited," a student may choose
from such topics as art history,
painting, photography or philo
sophy.
Most of these courses, Hutch
inson says, are "sandpaper"
courses — they tend to take
away students' rough edges and
deal directly with their feelings.
In the courses, he says, a stu
dent learns about other people
and their differences.
"To survive in this world," he
says, "we must understand how
other people live, and that they
are as rich and varied as we are."
The type of visual studies
program needed at Texas A&M,
Hutchinson says, would be ab
out 50 percent technical, with
courses in such areas as compu
ter graphics and the general
technical courses required in the
environmental design curricu
lum, and the other part of the
program would deal with sub
jects Such as painting and art
history.
Several attempts have been
made in the past to implement
visual arts programs at Texas
A&M, all of which have been
University-approved but were
turned down by the state Coor
dinating Board for colleges and
universities.
The reason for this, Hutch
inson says, is Texas A&M has
always been primarily a technic
al school, noted especially for its
engineering college. Any kind
of arts program probably would
be thought of as incompatible
with the University's technical
curriculum.
"Since similar programs
already exist at the University of
Texas and some of the other
state institutions," he says, "the
Coordinating Board sees the ex
tra cost of implementing a visual
studies program at Texas A&M
as unnecessary."
Hutchinson says some stu
dents begin undergraduate
study in the University's en
vironmental design program
and end up transferring to
another university because
Texas A&M does not offer the
visual studies courses they need
for their future careers.
Of the arts classes offered
now, Hutchinson says most of
them fill up during spring regis
tration. Enrollment has ex
panded to about 65 students per
class in some courses, he says.
That is encouraging, he says,
because the University only be
gan offering courses in visual
studies about seven years ago.
Hutchinson says he foresees
Texas A&M adopting some kind
of visual arts program in the
near future.
"If A&M is ever to become a
world-class university," he
says, "we will have to imple-
flftent a visual studies program.
And now would be the perfect
tune to do so, because right now
A&M has the money, the strong
following, and a more sophisti
cated student body."
Until more arts courses are
available at Texas A&M, stu
dents will have to be content to
take what is offered. For those
who are not able to take a formal
art class, however, involvement
with art still is possible.
The MSC Arts Committee, an
organization that works to bring
visual arts to the University, is
open to anyone interested in
working on the committee.
Arts Committee chairman
Wendi McDonough says the
organization's primary goal is to
increase student awareness of
art by bringing art exhibits and
collections to the University,
sponsoring student art contests
and bringing speakers in to talk
about art and related subjects.
McDonough says she feels
that the exhibits increase stu
dents' insight on people and cul
tures outside their geographic
area and helps them to appreci
ate different ideas and opinions.
Student interest has increased
in this organization, also, and
membership has grown to about
30 students.
Outside interest in the com
mittee also is growing, McDo
nough says.
"We have people calling in
frequently from places like
Houston who want to know
what kind of exhibits we have
planned," she says.
Other arts-related organiza
tions include MSC Town Hall,
MSC OPAS, MSC Basement,
MSC Camera Committee, MSC
Aggie Cinema and MSC
Cepheid Variable.