July/August Update

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:05:21 +0100

Dear UNISTA Members,
As promised, here is your July letter about our current business. Unfortunately some of the concrete information I had hoped to at this point in the summer have yet to be solidified, but as always, we move forward. At this point, I had hoped to share with you production dates and spaces but the process of negotiating with the department is not easy. Rest assured though that we are working on this. I can say, that if you are thinking about the possibility of applying for a larger production consider the weekend of October 29-31st your best chance. The current production calendar is clearest around that weekend. As a result of this early date, the board has decided to make first applications for large fall projects due Monday August 30th. We will discuss and vote on first applications during our meeting that week.

Now it is your turn. Hopefully many of you are thinking about projects for this fall. If you are at all interested in producing a project through UNISTA, now is the time to start talking to others about working together. Again, if you have questions about any part of the application process, please email me at mibrown@uni.edu.

This is not the only thing you can do to help UNISTA this fall. As you may or may not be aware, the process of petitioning the faculty for dates and spaces is no easy task. As a board, we often find ourselves in conflict with the faculty over what, where, and when we can produce complicated works. As a board, we will continue fighting for more flexibility in the calendar but we cannot do it alone. In order to have the influence necessary to create greater opportunities for students, many more of you must actively speak out about why all types of student theatre is important.

Think about this, UNISTA offers you the chance to try something completely new and not fear failure. Our mission statement reads, "...produce theatre which offers students of the university opportunies to explore their creative impulses in a non-critical enviroment." That is, an environment where risk-taking is encouraged. I ask you all to fight for the flexibility in the calendar for fully realized productions, but not to limit your efforts solely to this fight. I ask you to be creative and open-minded, no matter what dates and spaces within the Strayer-Wood we are eventually granted this year. Take risks, extend your mind beyond the walls of the Strayer-Wood. Theatre does not need a theater to exist. Our campus can literally be our stage, thereby expanding our reach beyond our walls, our thinking past its current level, and our creativity to new heights.

So please, take some time to think about how you can expand UNISTA to bold and daring new levels! And get ready for an exciting year, it will be here sooner than we all realize!

Michael Brown

2010-2011 UNISTA President

mibrown@uni.edu

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July/August Update