Astin course to teach production

In a school that rarely sees alumni giving direction towards anything other than the sciences, it is not surprising that acclaimed actor and Hopkins professor John Astin continues to find it difficult to get a theater department started. Before his classes were added to the curriculum, it had been a number of years since any kind of theater courses were offered to regular arts and sciences or engineering students. If a student was interested in acting, directing, or producing, they were forced to develop their own group or join one of the few already in existence. And though this serves to quench the thespian's desire for an artistic medium, there was a clear need for some kind of formal training.

With Astin came the opportunity for students to learn how professional theater operates from professional actors and directors. Astin is dedicated to the importance of real training.

"People here at Hopkins are mostly self-taught and practice theater all the time on their own," Astin explained.

His classes allow for their interest to take a step further. This semester, he has added a new course to the artistic roster. Play Production, a course offered under the Writing Seminars department, will take his acting and directing workshops a step further.

The course will serve as an overview for those students who have successfully completed his first two introductory workshops. The class offers an array of opportunities for those with any interest in the theater field.

"Students will learn an overview of the backstage crafts, stage management, production, budgeting, marketing, lighting and sound design," Astin said.

The course will also discuss the ins and outs of play selection, and will call upon the expertise of many guest lecturers involved in the industry. Though being careful to explain that the guest list was still in the works, Astin did mention a friend that was a Broadway producer.

Though this class can only serve as a preliminary taste to the planning and development involved in the theater, Astin eventually hopes he will be able to offer more specific courses.

"Even with more advanced opportunities, there is always a need for an overview to help those interested in producing and in the theater," Astin explained. He plans on offering this class again, possibly in the spring, and with its success he foresees an array of other theater arts classes.

But as with the limitations on funding and stage space, this theater endeavor is a work in progress. Ideally, Astin would like to see people audition for his acting and directing workshops. At this stage however, he finds it more important to have all students that are interested be able to take the class. Until now, he has not rejected anyone who has shown interest in his workshops.

"At the beginning stage of acting, there really is no basis on which to reject a student," Astin said.

Furthermore, having large classes has proved to be effective in working together and helping the students to learn technique. Eventually, Astin feels it would be important to cut back to smaller, more intimate classes. But for now, the growth of the program seems to have benefited from the large number of students who show interest and dedication.

But even with the adversity Astin's classes have dealt with, he sees the art of acting as able survive under any university restraints. "The key with an acting group is that you really don't need as much funding," he said.

With the classroom and occasional space for class time at the Swirnow Theater or "the barn," this has proven to be the case. He claims that all his students need to learn is the desire to be trained and take in feedback.

"I hope to capture community and beyond with the quality of the students acting/directing and eventually playwriting [abilities]," Astin said. He explained that the Writing Seminars department consistently provides great raw material with the writing assignments, and the playwriting classes have also generated a number of producible plays. With this closely-knit talent pool, there is a foreseeable possibility for Hopkins theater classes to get some real attention from the University.