{"id":1920,"date":"2016-09-11T08:35:03","date_gmt":"2016-09-11T12:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hoodcomstudies.com\/theblueandgrey\/?p=1920"},"modified":"2016-09-19T08:59:18","modified_gmt":"2016-09-19T12:59:18","slug":"hood-college-theater-groups-merge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblueandgrey.com\/index.php\/2016\/09\/11\/hood-college-theater-groups-merge\/","title":{"rendered":"Hood College Theater Groups Merge"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"IMG_2666\"<\/a>
The interior of Brodbeck Music Hall facing the stage. Photo by CJ Blickenstaff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The start of the 2016-2017 academic year has marked a major shake-up for musical theatre at Hood, since the two theatre groups here on campus have merged into one.<\/p>\n

The two different groups, Hood College Student Musical Theatre and the Hood College Theater Alliance, put on two separate shows last spring, You\u2019re a Good Man Charlie Brown<\/em> and Legally Blonde<\/em>, which both were performed in Brodbeck Music Hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s really only one place where a full musical can be performed in, and that\u2019s Brodbeck,\u201d says Gabe Cassutto, class of 2017, previously elected to be the president of Hood College Student Musical Theatre prior to the merger. \u201cBrodbeck is very old, so there was some unnecessary and significant wear\u00a0 on Brodbeck last year because of the two shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Cassutto, it was the strain of allocated resources, \u201cboth financial and participatory,\u201d that led to the merger.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe merge ultimately happened because of the financial situation in Student Life, and that there\u2019s just really no way that you can fund two full-length musicals for two different groups and everything that goes into it,\u201d says Carla Kronsbein, class of 2017,\u00a0 and vice president of Hood College Theatre Alliance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we think about a campus the size of Hood, and the resources that we have available, it only makes sense for there to be one predominant organization on campus,\u201d says Dr. Gurzick, former advisor of the Hood College Theatre Alliance and now a co-adviser for Hood College Student Musical Theatre. \u201cSo we came up with the decision to merge the groups and as co-advisers, both myself and Professor Staininger, agreed that that was a great way for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hood College Theatre Alliance was active for the 2015-2016 academic year, and was the result of complications within the group after the planned production, Urinetown<\/em>, could not be performed.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the 2014-2015 academic year, Hood College Student Musical Theatre planned to put on Urinetown<\/em>. This show ended up not actually happening, and this issue stemmed from not having enough members in the cast,\u201d says Cassutto. \u201cThis was a legal matter. Legally, we had to have a certain number of people in the ensemble and in the main cast. If we didn\u2019t we legally couldn\u2019t put it on, because we would have to change the music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cassutto says that possibly changing the music would have been in violation of a contract that was signed to get the rights to put on the show in the first place. Lynn Staininger, the show\u2019s music director, decided to refuse to continue to work on the show because of the legal obligations that were not being met.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4182\"<\/a>
The exterior of Brodbeck. Photo by CJ Blickenstaff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere is debate, and I will not comment on who is to be at fault for not fulfilling the cast number,\u201d says Cassutto. \u201cTypically, that responsibility will fall amongst the administration, as in the director, the assistant director, the casting director. As a result [of the show\u2019s cancellation], the director and the assistant director decided to create their own group, feeling that they were not able to create a show under the current exec board and cooperating with the music director.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kronsbein says this became very complicated.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeadlines just were not met, things were falling apart, and in my opinion, rightfully so, the board decided to pull the show,\u201d says Kronsbein. \u201cSo then [the director] decided, \u2018screw you guys, we\u2019re gonna make our own club where we can do what we want\u2019 So that\u2019s how that happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kronsbein says that she feels that the divide was about politics, and that once these politics were taken away, the groups were able to come together again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think [the merger] is a great idea. I think that people are finally getting over themselves,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m glad we\u2019re back together, and now we\u2019re under the direction of Lynn [Staininger] and Dr. Gurzick.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going forward, the merged groups, which now work under the name Hood College Student Musical Theatre, are going to try working together to put on a spring musical. At this time, both Kronsbein and Dr. Gurzick say that the selected spring show is The Wedding Singer<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Kronsbein hopes other music-related events can be put on throughout the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see us up and out, and coming back to the traditions and being able to have events, like the Gender Bender Cabaret [and flash mobs], just so that we have things throughout the year and not just one big performance at the end,\u201d Kronsbein said.<\/p>\n

Kronsbein also says hopes the Frederick community will be able to be involved in any future Hood productions, since the theatre program at Hood is so small.<\/p>\n

At the moment, the groups are putting together their exec boards and planning for the rest of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a meeting and the two groups came together and I thought it was a really valuable meeting,\u201d says Dr. Gurzick. \u201cI think we saw that there are tremendous amounts of interest and enthusiasm.\u201d<\/p>\n

It looks like time and compromise are what it will take for these groups to work effectively as one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that there\u2019s going to have to be a lot of compromise, and I think that if we stick to it for the love of theatre, that it will come out on top,\u201d says Kronsbein. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to come to the community as like, this merge happened and we have our [stuff] together, and that we\u2019re not just like blindly wondering what we do know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cassutto is not so sure. \u201cI think having one theater group on campus is a good idea, and I think the merger is great in theory, but unless proven wrong in the following weeks, has seemed to be poor in execution,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Cassutto says that the next big step is putting together a good administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want musical theatre at Hood to stick around. I want it to be a thing that people want to go out and do,\u201d Cassutto says. \u201cThe founders of this organization are very close friends of mine, and I can\u2019t look them in the eyes and tell them that their legacy at Hood failed while I was here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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