Creative liberty crucial aspect of Queen’s Theatre Troupe

Theatre club offers creative independence when producing full-length plays

Image supplied by: Supplied By Queens Theatre Troupe
Queen’s Theatre Troupe board members sit down with The Journal.

Queens Theatre Troupe (QTT) sets the stage as Queen’s newest theatre club, ready to include all students in production.

The new troupe—which puts on performances of established, historical works—said they stand out from other theatre club options including Queen’s Musical Theatre (QMT), Queen’s Yu Theatre Society, and the Dan Studio Series (DSS).

The DAN School of Drama and Music puts on shows directed by professors, with students under their guidance. QTT wanted to create a club which was entirely student-run—something lost in the Queen’s community after COVID-19, according to the Board.

QTT board members Aiden Robert Bruce, ArtSci ’25, Elsa McKnight, ArtSci ’24, and Victoria Marmulak, ArtSci ’24 talked to The Journal about QTT, its aim, and its benefits for the Queen’s populace.

According to Bruce, QMT only performs musicals, and Queen’s Yu Theatre Society focuses on Mandarin works.

Even DSS, which has student-run programming, involves faculty advisors and school financing is needed as it’s a DSUS organization.

“I was the drama representative with DSUS this year and I had a lot of students telling me ‘I can’t sing, and I can’t dance [so I can’t do QMT],’” Bruce said. “I auditioned for the DAN school major, and I didn’t get in and I had nothing left to do.”

According to Marmulak, working independently is a critical skill for students who want to continue working in theatre, since independent work—which can be difficult—is what the professional industry is often like anyways.

While the club doesn’t work directly with professors, it aligns its productions with the DAN School’s theatre curriculum.

McKnight, QTT board manager, noted how engaging with texts in a physical way rather than just reading the playwrights can provide more opportunities for students learning and understanding.

This fall, QTT plans to take on Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s Life is a Dream which fits into the DRAM200 course curriculum. In the winter semester, a passion project gives students the opportunity to direct a play of their choosing.

Board members are eager to see the raw process of theatre creations without facing the pressures of doing so in an academic environment, with curricular objectives tied to production.

“We are just so passionate about making theatre and about having a space where people can take risks and try things and fail because now’s the time to fail while we are students and learn from our creative failures. Because creative failures are creative wins,” Marmulak said.

The board comes equipped with a broad range of experience in theatre—individually having experience with different production and acting roles. They believe this collective diversity in experience gives them the ability to support anyone who wants to work for QTT—regardless of academic background.

“Anybody who would like to take their hand at this is welcome to apply and we are eager to see everyone,” Bruce said.

Applications for QTT are open, with production roles being posted on a rolling basis with auditions taking place in  September. All positions are no experience necessary.

“We’re trying really hard to find a place for everyone who applies because we want to work with as many people as possible and have as wonderful a team as we can,” Bruce said.

The Board hopes the production company withstands the test of time and acknowledges the responsibility and effort necessary to make the club sustainable.

When asked about their worries or anxieties about developing QTT, Marmulak said it’s all nerve-wrecking as they recognize the responsibility they’ve taken on, and work needed to accomplish this to make this club last.

“If we want to make a community that is a fruitful and happy place to learn then that starts with us being the board […] Big responsibility we are giving ourselves and we’re excited to take it on,” Marmulak said.

Students can reach out with questions to the Queens Theatre Troupe Instagram page.

Corrections

A previous version of this article incorrectly presented  the QTT’s audition process, misspelled Queens Theatre Troupe’s name, and DSUS.

The Journal regrets the error

Tags

DSS, OTT, Theatre, Troupe

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