Theatre at Barnard: Student Groups
Welcome back to a series on theatre at Barnard, both academic and cocurricular! My second post gives you the lowdown on student groups you can get involved with. And as usual, if there’s anything specific you’d like to know about, feel free to submit a question to AskAStudent, with “Theatre Series” in the subject line, and I’ll answer it as part of the series! If you’re looking for post one, find it here. Also – I tried to find photographer credits for the photos used in this blog, but not all of them were available. If you are the photographer/know who took photos used in this post, please let us know via askastudent@barnard.edu and we will credit you!
Let’s. Talk. Clubs.
Barnard/Columbia has a very active student-run performing arts scene on campus. Joining student organizations is a great way to meet other students who have the same interests as you and have access to many different leadership positions! We also have clubs on campus dedicated to dance and music, and there is some overlap between performing arts (for example, the spectacular group New Opera Workshop, which produces a student-written opera piece every semester). This blog post will be focusing mainly on theatre-centered groups. If you’d like to know more about music and dance clubs, check out these posts for music and these ones for dance.
All student theatre groups put on productions that are run entirely by undergraduate students, so whatever positions you may be interested in, you have opportunities to explore them here. And that includes positions you never thought to try before! Since coming to Barnard, I have sound designed, stage managed, acted, and directed shows for student organizations, and I certainly had not done all of those things before I got here.
PS: some other bloggers have covered this subject before, so feel free to check those out on the blog as well!
CMTS’ 2018 production of Into the Woods / photo by Elza Bouhassira (Columbia Spectator)
CUPAL
CUPAL, also known as the Columbia University Performing Arts League, is the overall student-run governing organization for performing arts groups on campus. They work with dance, music, and theatre clubs. Currently, CUPAL is in the process of being re-organized completely and is also going through its yearly election as it is being restructured. So some of this information might have changed even between the publication of this blog in the spring of 2020 and our return to campus.
CUPAL has an overall president and then a leader for all the music groups, a leader for dance groups, and a leader for theatre. Thse positions are elected by the students. If you’re interested in getting involved with any of those positions, the best way is to follow them on Facebook, linked here – or look them up as “Columbia University Performing Arts League – CUPAL”, as they will publish applications at the end of every academic year for the following one (as well as opportunities at other times to get involved, so following them will help you stay in the know for things as they pop up).
CUPAL helps the groups book space on campus for auditions and interviews (more on those in a couple sections); runs Actor Share for the theatre groups (more detail on what this is in my Auditions and Interviews section), and host social events throughout the year so members of different groups can mingle, the two main ones being Color Wars in the fall and CUPAL Showcase in the spring.
Color Wars is a competition between different groups for the grand prize of ~bragging rights~. You play field games while wearing the color of your group (for example, NOMADS wears orange). Often, groups will make merch with that color in mind – the musical theatre group, CMTS, has specific blue tshirts that a lot of members wear to Color Wars.
Color Wars 2016!
CUPAL Showcase, often referred to as prom, is a “fancier” occasion. All the groups gather in dressy clothes (no dress code tho! Wear what you like), eat snacks, and perform snippets from past or upcoming productions. It’s a great chance to see what everyone has been working on, and dance to only the best music (we’re talking back-to-back ABBA folks). And for extra fun – this event is MC’d by seniors who have been voted in to receive this honor, and they often use this opportunity to roast other members of the CUPAL community. Yay!
Showcase 2019!
CUPAL member groups are listed below, and those with an asterisk are theatre-centered and will be detailed in the next section.
- Bach Society
- Black Theatre Ensemble (BTE)*
- Columbia Ballet Collaborate (CBC)
- Columbia Classical Performers (CCP)
- CoLab
- Columbia Musical Theatre Society (CMTS)*
- Columbia New Music
- Columbia University Players (CUP)*
- Columbia University Ballet Ensemble (CUBE)
- CU Ballroom Dance
- CU Taiko
- CU Wind Ensemble
- King's Crown Shakespeare Troupe (KCST)*
- Latenite*
- New Opera Workshop (NOW)
- NOMADS*
- Orchesis
- The Varsity Show*
- XMAS!*
THE THEATRE GROUPS
A note: I’d strongly recommend using the links to these groups and liking them on Facebook, because just as with CUPAL, following these groups on social media will give you the most convenient access to their events.
Black Theatre Ensemble (BTE): BTE is a teaching ensemble, intent on developing the knowledge, talents and interests of people of color as they relate to theatre arts and productions. The Black Theatre Ensemble is intent on establishing a platform for people of color to express themselves artistically on stage. We seek to uplift playwrights, actors and theatre artists of color. In doing so, we provide an outlet for creative expression, development and community that is largely unavailable on campus. BTE productions are as diverse as our casts, and include student-written works and plays, classics of the black theatre cannon as well as contemporary and experimental pieces. All productions are chosen with a careful eye, as they are meant to foster discussions about a host of issues to all students and people within diverse environment.
· Affinity group for Black students
· Opportunities for student writers: their One-Acts festival in the spring semester is comprised exclusively of student-written pieces.
· Opportunities for first-years: as a teaching ensemble, BTE provides opportunities for students without previous theatre experience to perform and work in leadership roles both in their productions as artists and on their Executive Board.
· BTE produces productions and showcases every semester.
Previous productions include Dreamgirls (Fall 2017); One Acts Festival: Black to the Future (Spring 2018); Bootycandy (Fall 2018), as well as the BTE Black Arts Showcase, Navigating Blackness: Visions of the Diaspora (Spring 2019).
BTE’s 2018 production of Bootycandy / photo by Aliya Schneider (Columbia Spectator)
BTE’s 2018 Black Arts Showcase / photo by Natalie Tischler (Columbia Spectator)
Columbia Musical Theatre Society (CMTS): Columbia Musical Theatre Society is Columbia University's oldest producer of musical theatre revivals. CMTS is the only recognized undergraduate student organization that regularly produces musical revivals. Columbia Musical Theatre Society produces high-quality musical revivals by striving to model the collaborative process of professional musical theatre and fostering an inclusive, positive experience for all. As a community, CMTS endeavors to offer continuing mentorship and guidance to student theatre artists of all backgrounds, schools, and majors.
- Opportunities for first years: their 24 Musical in the spring is a super popular option for students with less experience, especially if you’d like to explore a creative team position (directing, producing, music directing, stage managing, technical directing). Also, they cast everyone who auditions! Not that it is any harder to get cast as a first year in a full production either, JSYK. No group operates with “seniority” in mind. J
- CMTS produces two full productions in the fall, one full production and a 24-Hour Musical in the spring, and various showcases throughout the year.
Previous productions include: Pippin (Fall 2019); Camelot (Spring 2019); and 24-hour productions of High School Musical (Spring 2019) and Annie (Spring 2020).
CMTS’ 2019 production of Pippin / photo by Beatrice Shlansky (Columbia Spectator)
Promotional photos for CMTS’ 24-Hour production of High School Musical / photos by Soorim Lee
Columbia University Players (CUP): NO RULES, NO LIMITS! (a.k.a. no musicals, no Shakespeare) Producing plays for the Columbia University community since 1906! CU Players (CUP) is Columbia’s premier student-run theater group on campus. CU Players offers many opportunities to join the Columbia theater community and is always looking for students of all experience levels to join.
- Opportunities for first-years: their Ones Acts festival is a great chance for first year directors and producers to be on the creative team, and as it is a festival of multiple plays, there are even more opportunities.
- CUP produces two productions every semester. They strive for one production per year to be a one acts festival of several shorter plays.
Previous productions include: Middletown (Spring 2018); The Hungry Woman: a Mexican Medea (Spring 2019); and Bona Varda (Fall 2020); as well as one acts festivals in fall 2017 and spring 2019.
CUP’s One Acts Festival 2017, Boy Meets Girl / photo by Yupin Zhang (Columbia Spectator
CUP’s 2018 production of The Great Gatsby / photo by Elza Bouhassira (Columbia Spectator)
King's Crown Shakespeare Troupe (KCST): Bringing free, high-quality Shakespeare to the Columbia community for over 20 years.
- Opportunities for first-years: Spring Show casts everyone who auditions and takes everyone who interviews. It is a show with a huge ensemble who even get their own directing team!
- Opportunities for student writers: their 24-hour play festival, Egg and Peacock, is a festival of short student-written plays written and directed in a day.
- KCST produces two productions in the fall, one of which is a Shakespeare play and one of which is Shakespeare-adjacent (classics or a modernized classic); in the spring, they produce Spring Show, a Shakespeare play that is performed outside on Columbia’s campus.
Previous productions include: Measure for Measure (Fall 2017); Hamlet (Spring 2018); A Winter’s Tale (Fall 2018); Romeo and Juliet (Spring 2019); and Bacchae 2.1 (Fall 2019)
KCST’s 2018 production of A Winter’s Tale
KCST’s 2019 Egg & Peacock / photo by Cherrie Zheng (Columbia Spectator)
Latenite: Columbia University student-written theater, now performed with real life students! Everything from Dostoevsky to dick jokes. It happens
- Opportunities for student writers: it’s all student-written!
- Opportunities for smaller commitments: Latenite usually rehearses once a week or less over the course of the semester, as the plays are very short.
- Latenite produces an anthology of plays in one production every semester.
Previous productions include: their semesterly anthologies!
Latenite’s spring 2017 Anthology / photo by Kirill Buskirk (Columbia Spectator)
Latenite’s spring 2019 Anthology / Columbia Spectator
NOMADS: NOMADS (New and Original Material Authored and Directed by Students) is the student theater group at CU dedicated to presenting work written by current Barnard/Columbia students. Since 2003, NOMADS has provided students a unique space for the creative development of expressive, imaginative, and challenging new theater, ranging from workshop readings to fully staged productions of original dramas, comedies, musicals, and interdisciplinary works.
- Opportunities for student writers: it’s all student-written!
- Opportunities for smaller commitments: WORDPLAY typically only rehearses a few times, and the readings happen once instead of being performed multiple times as is typical for a full production.
- NOMADS produces an original play or musical as well as a festival of readings of original pieces (known as WORDPLAY) every semester.
Previous productions include: Type B by Andy Jo (Spring 2018); The Other Side by Eden Arielle Gordon (Fall 2018); Lucky by Phanesia Pharel (Spring 2019); and Linguistic Features of AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) by Kay Kemp (Fall 2019)
WORDPLAY Fall 2017 / photo by Jeanette Pala (Columbia Spectator)
NOMADS’ production of Imperson All by AJ McDougall / photo by Arielle Shternfeld (Columbia Spectator)
The Varsity Show: The Varsity Show, founded in 1894, is one of the oldest traditions at Columbia University, and certainly its oldest performing arts tradition. Its long list of alumni includes such distinguished names as Oscar Hammerstein II ’16, Lorenz Hart ’18, Richard Rodgers ’23, and I.A.L. Diamond ’41. Each year, the Varsity Show attracts some of Columbia and Barnard College’s finest actors and creative talents. Founded as a fundraiser for Columbia athletics, the Varsity Show now draws together the entire Columbia undergraduate community for a series of sold-out performances every April/May. Dedicated to producing a unique full-length show that skews and satirizes many dubious aspects of life at Columbia, the Varsity Show is often written and inspired by a long list of contributors, including the cast, production and creative teams.
- Opportunities for student writers: it’s all student-written, lyrics and music inclusive!
- The Varsity Show is produced in the spring semester, with interviews and auditions at the end of the fall semester.
Previous productions include: The 125th Annual Varsity Show (Spring 2019)
The 125th Annual Varsity Show / photo by Gugliemo VedovottO
XMAS!: XMAS! is an annual student-written holiday extravaganza at Columbia!
- Opportunities for student writers: it’s all student-written!
- Opportunities for smaller commitments: XMAS! typically doesn’t rehearse as often until it is closer to performance time, which is near the very end of the semester.
- XMAS! is produced in the fall semester.
Previous productions include: XMAS! 14: A Production by Santa LLC (Fall 2019) and XMAS! 13: The XMAS! Factor.
XMAS! 2017 / Columbia Spectator
XMAS! 2018 / photo by Aliya Schneider (Columbia Spectator)
PS: Columbia Blue Glaze Theatre is another student theatre group but it is not affiliated with CUPAL. It is focused on recognizing and supporting Asian-heritage talent in the performing arts, drawing inspiration from East Asian cultures and traditions for richer artistic experience. Previous productions include No Exit (Fall 2017) and Alice in Wonderland (Fall 2019).
CBGT’s 2019 production of Alice in Wonderland / photo by Alex Kieu (Columbia Spectator)
AUDITIONS AND INTERVIEWS
Auditions and interviews for all groups begin with an event called Kickoff, typically hosted at the end of the first day of classes. It’s NYC, baby! We move fast! Seriously, like these pages so you know when everything is happening. Every semester, CUPAL hosts a representative from every group (as well as any and all interested students, returning or new to student performance). The group representatives then share with everyone in attendance what their group is producing and how you can audition and interview.
Then, we move into auditions and interviews. *cue the scary music and lighting and thunder*
Classes always start on a Tuesday. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, auditions for most every production that semester are held 8-11pm in Hamilton Hall. You can swing by any time any of those days and audition or interview (insider tip: the earlier you come, the less time you have to wait to be seen. 10pm on Thursday is nuts. Speaking of nuts, bring snacks, especially if you plan to come, oh, 10pm on Thursday). You can audition, interview, or both, for as many productions as you choose. You might have to sing for a musical theatre production, read a Shakespeare monologue for KCST, or just sit and talk with the creative team for an interview position. Some groups publish their “sides,” as in pages with audition text on them, in advance through their social media. Hint, hint. Other groups will have sides in the room, for you to pick up and practice while you wait. Most groups will accept if you have a pre-prepared monologue as well.
If you’re interviewing – that is, seeking any position besides acting in a production – expect an email from the group or groups you saw that night or the next morning. Congratulations! You’re now working on a student theatre production! You can work on as many shows as you please, so long as you can manage your time in rehearsals. Don’t do what I did – I’ve worked on as many as 4 productions in one semester. It was not sustainable.
If you’re auditioning – you will receive emails from the show or shows you auditioned for that night as well. Groups will call back actors they are considering, and callbacks are held Saturday and Sunday during the day. If you have callbacks that overlap, first of all, congratulations! And second, just let those two teams know, and they will work out your schedule. After callbacks, teams will make a list of the actors they want to cast, and save it for Actor Share.
Sunday night is Actor Share. All production directors, as well as some producers for shows, gather to discuss who they want to cast, and if someone is being considered for multiple shows, whether those two teams can share that person. As an actor, you will be expected to give your phone number to all the productions considering you for a role. You will have a window of time Sunday night when someone will call you and let you know that CONGRATS! You’ve been cast. You are told what productions you’ve been cast in, and in what role. If two shows can share you, you will be told that you can accept both (or more) offers. If they cannot share you (for example, they perform on the same weekend), you will also be told that. You can then hang up and have 5 minutes to call you mom, friend, talk to your pet fish, and decide what you want to take. You have the option of accepting all offers, some offers, or none – it is entirely up to you, and the process is completely confidential. If you have multiple offers, the caller will be a neutral party not affiliated with either production so that you feel even less pressure. After you accept, expect an email with follow-up details. Something I like to say during auditions: callbacks are as much an audition for you, as they are for the director. If you are called back for a show but realize that the role/s you’re being considered for are not interesting to you, or you don’t jive with the director – you can say no. Feel empowered to do that!
If you are reading this incredibly long post, chances are, you are really interested in student theatre. You will get many opportunities. Remember that you can say no to something, and no one will be hurt. It took me a long time to figure that out!
KCST’S 2019 production of Bacchae 2.1 / photo by Sarah-Jayne Austin (Columbia Spectator)
EXECUTIVE BOARD
If you want to be involved in the process of selecting what shows a group does every semester, or want to change how social events are run for a group, or you just love a certain group and want to be even more involved? Apply for their executive board! Every group I’ve described has a board of students who make it run smoothly.
NOMADS’ 2019 production of Linguistic Features of AAVE by Kay Kemp / photo by Beatrice Shlansky (Columbia Spectator)
PROPOSALS
Do you have a burning desire to see CUP do Cat on a Hot Tin Roof? Really love Sondheim, and want to A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum to happen at Columbia? Think King John, Shakespeare’s most underproduced play, is also super underrated? PROPOSE IT! With student theatre, you can make your wildest theatre dreams come true.
CUP’s 2018 production of Almost, Maine / photo by Drey Carr