Recent growth and developments within the ETSU theatre division allow larger and more elaborate productions like this semester’s The Crucible to take place, say theatre faculty members.
This fall’s ETSU theatre production is directed by theatre faculty member Pat Cronin, a stage, film and TV performer.
The Crucible cast includes 20 members and a large group of behind-the-scenes workers, as well as intricate costumes and detailed set and lighting design, Cronin said. “ETSU theatre has reached the point where its members can not only meet the challenges that a play like The Crucible presents but also exceed them,” Cronin said.
The ETSU theatre division has undergone much growth and many changes in recent years. These changes have allowed the types and scale of productions performed to grow exponentially, Cronin says. “The evolution of ETSU theatre has enabled the division and everyone involved to reach impressive milestones,” he says.
Not only have productions been enhanced by the changes in the division, Cronin says, but futures for theatre majors continue to become brighter and brighter. “ETSU theatre graduates are getting into impressive graduate programs and this is always good for the reputation university,” he said.
“Students are going on to advanced studies in theatre all over the country and in some very tough to get into programs. One ETSU theatre graduate is studying at UCLA under Anthony Hopkins. This says something about the quality of theatre students that are coming out of the ETSU.”
Another milestone, Cronin says, is the number of ETSU theatre majors, which has doubled in the last six years. “People are beginning to realize that theatre majors can do more that just act and this has increased are number of theatre majors noticeably,” he said. “Because we have more students involved in the program, we can do larger productions like The Crucible that require larger casts.”
Students in the program have noted the changes, as well. “We are having much larger turnouts for auditions and this allows us to not only have a stronger cast but also have more flexibility with the size of productions that we can perform,” said Rick McVey, The Crucible cast member and ETSU theatre senior.
These larger productions are also possible in part because the new and diverse faculty members that have been brought in, Cronin said. “After the years of Bud Frank and his wife Daryl, who where instrumental in bringing a theatre division to ETSU, the interest in ETSU theatre and the number of people who attended plays began to decline,” Cronin said. “The public seemed to have lost interest in the division and the plays that were being performed.”
In 1999, Robert Funk from the University of Alabama was hired to direct the theatre program. Funk then appointed Cronin as Basler Chair, a visiting faculty position, in hopes that Cronin, a well-known TV and film actor, could create enthusiasm for the program and bring a new level of expertise, Funk said.
Karen Brewster a renowned costume designer with Barter Theatre in Bristol and Melissa Shafer a prominent set designer were also brought in to the ETSU theatre program.
“The growth of the faculty and staff provided the Division of Theatre with a complete theatrical team,” said Brewster, who was brought in as a full-time faculty member in 2000. “It is much easier to mount a large show like The Crucible with a full team. It is also a much better teaching model by showing students how a complete theatrical team operates.”
The new faculty members in addition to existing theatre faculty have increased the diversity and interest in the ETSU theatre division, Cronin said. This is evident with the excitement around The Crucible, he said.
“Big shows tend to excite people and with the help of theatre faculty members and students we are able to give the public a big show.”
The Crucible is not only a “big show” it is also a very intimate and timely piece that deals with very human emotions, Cronin said. Although the play is set in old Salem and deals with the puritan characters, the central theme is very relative to people today, he said. “If I had to give a main theme of The Crucible I would say it is a play about our personal freedoms and what happens when one or many of these freedoms are taken away,” Cronin said. “I think that the production is very timely because people are passionate about issues again, like in the ’70s.

Author