Although Hopkins has no theatre major, there are many theatre performance groups on campus. So, if you strive to be the next Tom Hanks, the next David Arquette or just the person who enjoys watching one and making fun of the pitiful career of the other, there are many opportunities for you.
The first big performance show of the year, called the O-Show, comes at the end of freshman orientation. With its uniquely large audience, the O-show occupies an important role for performance groups at Hopkins. A number of student performance groups, ranging from dance to a capella to comedy, put on the show, which is a student favorite every year.
As MC's of the event, their largest of the year, Hopkins' only improvisational and sketch comedy group, the Buttered Niblets, get a chance to show off their talent and also recruit new members. This may give them an advantage over some of the other theater groups staging shows around campus. During the rest of the year, the Niblets put on shows during the first week of every month.
The Niblets represent one of the six student groups on campus. This list also includes the Barnstormers, the traditionally black group Dunbar, Baldwin and Hughes, the one-act play troupe, Witness, the newly founded JHU Shakespeare Company, and the other comedy group on campus, Throat Culture. If you like jokes about Hopkins and some of the ridiculous things that go on here, this group is sure to please.
The Barnstormers, JHU's oldest and largest student-run theater group, puts on two plays every year and usually charge a couple bucks for student admission. Though they have had many homes over the years, they now perform in the Smirnow Theatre in the Mattin Center. Last year, the Barnstormers put on such favorites as "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." This weekend, the group will be performing "Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead," and in November, the group will perform in their biggest show this semester, "Rumors," by Neil Simon.
"This year, we're looking to keep good theatre going at Hopkins, comments President Kris Jansma. "We've got a lot of good talent and great people on the production end."
Throat Culture, which is an umbrella group of Barnstormers, is a group that does solely sketch comedy. They also put on about one show per semester, this year's fall performance will be on November 15.
Another Barnstomers group that always interests many freshmen is the Freshmen One Acts, a collection of several short, one-act plays performed only by freshmen. This year's performance will be in mid-October.
The newly-founded JHU Shakespeare Company, started last year by Junior Bob Alleman, put on its first show, Much Ado About Nothing, in an outdoor performance on the Beach. The roles were acted by students who auditioned with the directors, and the turn out was an atest to all the hard work they put in. The company hopes for similar success this year.
Dunbar, Baldwin and Hughes, an African American theatre company, performs a variety of African American drama, including plays, skits, monologues, poetry recitals and creative dance shows. The company also puts on two major productions a year.
Finally, JHU's Witness group not only puts on student-run plays, but the shows are written by the students themselves. The group, which was founded only a few years ago, is gaining popularity.
All the student performing groups will be able to take advantage of the newly completed Mattin Arts Center. Groups like the Niblets are hoping to utilize this new resource.
Niblets member Loren Dunn commented that the Mattin Center is "a big step up for theater at Hopkins--it's a real improvement."
In addition to the new stage, many players are lauding former Addams Family star John Astin's return to Hopkins with improving the theater scene. "Astin definitely bolstered theater at Hopkins. In particular, he has renewed interest [in it]," said Dunn. Astin now teaches theatre classes that are part of the Hopkins curriculum. -Selected students are responsible for putting on a show at the end of each semester.
Hopkins certainly has a broad array of fine student theatre. So, instead of dropping fifty bucks to see a play in downtown Baltimore, why not first explore the Hopkins theatre scene? Chances are that you'll be pleasantly surprised.
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