Academics
Real Stories
Performance Minus Anxiety
- Course:
- THEA 50: Theatre Practicum
- Department:
- Theatre & Communication Arts
- Faculty:
- Professor Gil Gonzalez
"The most fun I have ever had as a director was during final rehearsals for the play bobrauschenbergamerica by Charles Mee," recalls Prof. Gil Gonzalez, who has trained under some of the country's most respected artists, and who continues to amass credits for his stage and screen work.
"Watching Meghan Cox assault an aluminum trash can with a baseball bat; seeing Jon Stoner and Jennifer Herrera make a human martini on a plastic sheet while singing to Frank Sinatra's Fly Me to the Moon; watching Danielle Orner '07 eat a lemon cake while arguing with Cody Goulder '08—and consequently spitting and chewing lemon cake all over the stage, Cody's face, and down her own shirt. For me, this was priceless."
Thespians, costumers, and technical wizards abound at Whittier College, and several graduates of our theatre program have gone on to professional careers onstage and behind the scenes for both Hollywood and Broadway. Aside from a broad range of classes offered, the department annually mounts a full theatrical season in the Shannon Center, encompassing everything from contemporary dramas, to larger-than-life musicals, to stylized comedies—and occasionally, a world premiere or two by a new author. Students in the program also have ample opportunity to stretch their wings and explore their talents under the guidance of a faculty well-versed in the craft, who believe in pushing the limits, finding The Moment, and beautifully setting the stage.
