GCC’s Theatre Arts Department is committed to providing opportunities, both on and off campus, for students to explore their interests in a variety of areas.
In November, Theatre Arts major Grace Temblador and Media Arts student Sharukh Khan made their directorial debuts in the special production “Spotlight on Shanley: Three One-Act Plays.” Temblador and Khan each chose their source material, cast actors, and ran rehearsals on their own. “Getting to watch the two of them direct for the first time was very rewarding, and I was amazed by what they were able to accomplish,” Theatre Arts instructor Jeremy Lewis said in an interview.
“Being able to observe the audiences’ reactions and witness how our work resonates with people up close was wonderful,” stated Temblador. “A student from the welding program who had never seen live theatre before in his life came to one of our shows after finding a flyer about it, and he was just blown away by what he saw. That warms my heart. That’s why we’re doing this: to connect with students and have an impact beyond the theatre department.”
For both Lewis and fellow Theatre Arts instructor Melody Gunter, who specializes in Technical Theatre, “Spotlight on Shanley” was the first GCC production they worked on that utilized student directors. “I appreciated working with peer directors, and found it interesting to compare their interpretations of the material to Jeremy’s interpretations,” Gunter observed.
Through the department’s membership in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) program, Theatre Arts students and faculty alike have received recognition for their efforts. In February, GCC hosted the KCACTF’s regional festival, at which Gunter received the Excellence in Theatre in Higher Education award, and Lewis was awarded the Kennedy Center Gold Medallion, which is the highest honor in Theatre Education. Department Chair Jeanette Farr has also been recognized by the Kennedy Center in prior years. In addition to previously receiving both the Gold Medallion and Excellence in Theatre in Higher Education awards, Farr’s play “Hedda on Fire” received Distinguished Recognition at the organization’s Playwriting Awards Program.
GCC student actors Emily Torres, Harmony Elise Jones, Emily Anasti, Brenda Malkonyan, and Payton Ross were also honored at the festival, as were student volunteers David Pumphrey and Sydnee Marks. In addition, Temblador was named National Outstanding Member of the Kennedy Center’s Student Advisory Board, enabling her to participate in a paid internship in Washington, D.C. during the spring semester, an opportunity she described as “surreal.”
“There’s a narrative, especially among community college students, that people in this field only ever end up in dead-end jobs, but I haven’t found that to be true,” Temblador noted. “It’s definitely a viable career.” While she has been a student at GCC, Temblador has taken on 11 different page gigs as a stage manager for various production companies, and she credits the support of her instructors as instrumental to her success. “They’ve definitely helped me make connections and told me about gig opportunities.”
“The department aims to support students as much as we can through the process, but we also give them the resources to be independent when they want to,” Lewis explained. He also believes that community college students are uniquely positioned to benefit from a theatre arts education. “I’ve taught people from all ages and walks of life, but working with community college students has absolutely been my favorite. The students taught with people from all walks of life, but working at a community college, where students are at the right age and place in their lives to develop a new skill set, has absolutely been my favorite. I adore watching them make these discoveries and transform.”
Theatre Arts has many upcoming opportunities for students to pursue their passions and gain hands-on experience. In the spring 2025 semester, Lewis hopes to facilitate a collaboration between students in the Introduction to Playwriting and Introduction to Theatrical Directing classes to put on a series of student-produced 10-minute plays. GCC will also host the Kennedy Center’s regional festival again in February of 2026, giving interested students ample time to hone their skills.
Gunter is working with the college to develop the Entertainment Technology Academy, which will offer four new certificates in technical theatre and plans to open in the 2025-26 academic year. “Our goal is to get students into unions and employed as technicians upon graduation,” she clarified.
“The nice thing about technical theatre is that the people who wouldn’t necessarily want to act get to be a part of the backstage community — they become theatre people, too,” Gunter elaborated. “I encourage anyone who is curious to try our program out. You don’t need to have had any experience!”
Temblador urges students to try out acting classes, asserting that “Some people take them just to get out of their comfort zones, and it completely transforms them.” ““Everyone has the ability to perform, to act, to communicate, that’s all acting is,” agreed Lewis.
“People have misconceptions about what theatre is, and what their own capabilities are,” Lewis insisted. “There are people who want to be singers, but can never really do it because they’re tone-deaf. It’s not like that in theatre. All of this can be taught.”
Carissa Coane can be reached at [email protected].