The small professor-to-student ratio at Lycoming allows for students to work one-on-one with their professors in a variety of student-produced projects.  THEA 449 Student Project is intended to be the culmination of the Theatre Major.  Under faculty supervision, students select the subject of their Senior Project, which is a practical application their skills.  Students in the acting track may create one-person shows or perform a major role in a Welch Theatre production.  In 2007, for example, Barry Schaub ’08 performed Eric Bogosian’s one-man-show Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n’ Roll in the Dragon’s Lair Theatre.  Melissa Newman ’09 wrote and performed her one-woman show entitled You’re Human, Too, which was produced in the Dragon’s Lair Theatre during January 2009.  Sarah Runtas ’09 and Tyler Winthrop ’09 collaborated on their Senior Project; Sarah directed Tyler in a production of the full-length play, Manuscript.  Design/tech majors can create scenic, costume, or lighting designs for Welch Theatre productions.  In 2007, Josh Markloff ’08 designed the scenery for the faculty-directed production of The Underpants.  Students are also encouraged to devise a Senior Project that embraces multiple skills.  Arielle Blanton ’08 produced, directed, and acted in a music video that she created with several other Lycoming students.  The completed video was screened for the entire campus community.

Other courses in the theatre curriculum also allow students to receive academic credit while pursuing their own projects.  The advanced courses in acting, directing, and design/tech create opportunities for our students to direct, design, and perform major roles in student- and faculty-produced plays.  Several full-length plays have been directed by students in the Dragon’s Lair Theatre in recent years, for example, Proof, Fat Pig, and Beyond Therapy.  Students also designed the lighting for the recent faculty-directed Welch Theatre productions of Art and The Dining Room.

The Showcase of One-act Plays, produced every other year in the Dragon’s Lair Theatre, is indeed a showcase of student talent.  Students in Directing II select, cast, and rehearse their scripts, while other students often design the lighting and provide the technical direction for these productions.  Student actors, stage managers, board operators, and crews collaborate with their directors and designers to create genuinely student-produced theatre.  Recent one-acts in the DLT include “The Actor’s Nightmare,” “A Marriage Proposal," “The Lover,” and “For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls.”  In December 2008, five one-acts were produced, including "The Problem" by A.R. Gurney, Doug Wright's "Wildwood Park," and Christopher Durang's "Wanda's Visit."