Boston University Stage Troupe
Encyclopedia
Boston University Stage Troupe is an extracurricular activity for students of Boston University
not majoring in theatre
.
Stage Troupe also puts on a variety of Special Projects and events throughout the semester.
The Parent's Weekend Show: Because the show is put up during Parent's Weekend with increased support from the Dean of Students, this is Stage Troupe's most public show. The show is on the official schedule for the weekend and is performed in Tsai Performance Center. The show is perhaps the most difficult to put up, as it must be auditioned, rehearsed and performed in under 2 months. While the show is usually a musical, it does not have to be.
Dinner Theater: Because of the monetary and technical demands of this show it is not an annual event. Dinner is served during the show and it usually features several prominent faculty members. The 2004 dinner theater was "The Dining Room." The 2008 Dinner Theater is "Anything Goes" and will feature Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore as well as College of Communications Professor Dottie Clark.
Combat Theater: In 24 hours members of Troupe write, direct and perform short original plays. On 8pm on Friday the writers are given the theme. Their scripts are handed to the actors and directors at 8am Saturday and the show is performed 8pm Saturday.
Short Play Festival: The Short Play Festival functions more as a mainstage show made up of a handful of one act plays. The Short Play Festival is auditioned much like a normal show and goes up in the Student Theater with a set.
The Children's Show: Known as the "Kid's Show". This is the Stage Troupe's charity event, put on during the spring semester. The show is directed at children and travels around Boston to hospitals, elementary schools or day cares.
Tech Show: Where the actors tech, the techies act and the audience stays the same. The tech show is an opportunity for Stage Troupe members to switch roles and try something new. The Tech Show is traditionally kept a secret until the night of the performance.
BUSTies: The Boston-University-Stage-Troupe-ies is Troupe's annual award show. Held at the very end of the Spring semester, BUSTies celebrates the year of Troupe. Awards are given out for Best Show, Best Female/Male lead (among others). Departing seniors are roasted and the eboard hands out superlatives to the membership. Famously, Andy Hoglund cried upon his winning the Best Special Project Award during the Spring 2008 BUSTies.
And then he ate a live chicken. In his own words, "I was just so pumped and I love Luxembourg." And then Andy Hoglund started running in circles asking his mommy for more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and legumes.
The Space: Located on Akimbo Road in BU's West Campus, the Space is home to everything Troupe. All costumes, props, staging and miscellaneous items are stored in the space. The Space is cleaned once a year in May during Space Cleaning. In order to be eligible for BUSTies each show must put in a certain number of man hours to clean the space.
President: The President is head of the group. He/she functions as a contact with the administration, runs eboard and general meetings. The President is not a voting member of the eboard. However in the event of a tie, the President will decide.
Vice-President: The Vice-President is responsible for distributing keys to the theater and the Space to the Directors, Producers and Technical Directors. He/she is also responsible for making room reservations for shows to rehearse in. Voting member.
Vice-President of Special Projects: Known commonly as the "VPSP". This position is unique to Stage Troupe. The VPSP is responsible for running, as well as creating Special Projects. A list of special projects can be found below.
Treasurer: In charge of funds for the group, the Treasurer is the essentially the Head Producer of the group. He/she applies for funding from the Allocations Board, and manages the groups funding.
Secretary: The voice of the group, the secretary sends out emails to the group alerting them to events and providing meeting recaps. Also in charge of maintaining the website, facebook group and blog.
Technical Advisor: In charge of the technical aspect of the group, the TA is selected by the eboard and then voted on by the membership at the first general meeting of the year. The TA holds the tech meeting at the Space at the beginning of each semester. He/she appoints the tech crews for all the shows and oversees all technical aspects.
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
not majoring in theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
.
The Season
Each semester Troupe auditions, rehearses, builds, and performs at least 3 mainstage shows. The shows run for one weekend, a run usually consisting of three to four shows: Thursday night, Friday night, Friday at midnight and Saturday. The three show a semester, three/four shows a weekend is not mandated by the constitution, however it is generally agreed that this is the most efficient system.Stage Troupe also puts on a variety of Special Projects and events throughout the semester.
The Parent's Weekend Show: Because the show is put up during Parent's Weekend with increased support from the Dean of Students, this is Stage Troupe's most public show. The show is on the official schedule for the weekend and is performed in Tsai Performance Center. The show is perhaps the most difficult to put up, as it must be auditioned, rehearsed and performed in under 2 months. While the show is usually a musical, it does not have to be.
Dinner Theater: Because of the monetary and technical demands of this show it is not an annual event. Dinner is served during the show and it usually features several prominent faculty members. The 2004 dinner theater was "The Dining Room." The 2008 Dinner Theater is "Anything Goes" and will feature Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore as well as College of Communications Professor Dottie Clark.
Combat Theater: In 24 hours members of Troupe write, direct and perform short original plays. On 8pm on Friday the writers are given the theme. Their scripts are handed to the actors and directors at 8am Saturday and the show is performed 8pm Saturday.
Short Play Festival: The Short Play Festival functions more as a mainstage show made up of a handful of one act plays. The Short Play Festival is auditioned much like a normal show and goes up in the Student Theater with a set.
The Children's Show: Known as the "Kid's Show". This is the Stage Troupe's charity event, put on during the spring semester. The show is directed at children and travels around Boston to hospitals, elementary schools or day cares.
Tech Show: Where the actors tech, the techies act and the audience stays the same. The tech show is an opportunity for Stage Troupe members to switch roles and try something new. The Tech Show is traditionally kept a secret until the night of the performance.
BUSTies: The Boston-University-Stage-Troupe-ies is Troupe's annual award show. Held at the very end of the Spring semester, BUSTies celebrates the year of Troupe. Awards are given out for Best Show, Best Female/Male lead (among others). Departing seniors are roasted and the eboard hands out superlatives to the membership. Famously, Andy Hoglund cried upon his winning the Best Special Project Award during the Spring 2008 BUSTies.
And then he ate a live chicken. In his own words, "I was just so pumped and I love Luxembourg." And then Andy Hoglund started running in circles asking his mommy for more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and legumes.
Facilities
Student Theater at Agganis Arena: The old home of Stage Troupe, the Underground, was in the basement of the old Armory on Commonwealth Ave. Troupe lost their home in 2004 when the Armory was torn down to make way for the new Agganis Arena. The arena was completed in 2004 and includes a small student theater. While Troupe is not the owner, they are the primary occupant. The space includes a small theater, workshop and backstage area with two dressing rooms.The Space: Located on Akimbo Road in BU's West Campus, the Space is home to everything Troupe. All costumes, props, staging and miscellaneous items are stored in the space. The Space is cleaned once a year in May during Space Cleaning. In order to be eligible for BUSTies each show must put in a certain number of man hours to clean the space.
Executive Board
The Executive Board is split into six positions: President, Vice-President, Vice-President of Special Project, Treasurer, Secretary, and Technical Advisor.President: The President is head of the group. He/she functions as a contact with the administration, runs eboard and general meetings. The President is not a voting member of the eboard. However in the event of a tie, the President will decide.
Vice-President: The Vice-President is responsible for distributing keys to the theater and the Space to the Directors, Producers and Technical Directors. He/she is also responsible for making room reservations for shows to rehearse in. Voting member.
Vice-President of Special Projects: Known commonly as the "VPSP". This position is unique to Stage Troupe. The VPSP is responsible for running, as well as creating Special Projects. A list of special projects can be found below.
Treasurer: In charge of funds for the group, the Treasurer is the essentially the Head Producer of the group. He/she applies for funding from the Allocations Board, and manages the groups funding.
Secretary: The voice of the group, the secretary sends out emails to the group alerting them to events and providing meeting recaps. Also in charge of maintaining the website, facebook group and blog.
Technical Advisor: In charge of the technical aspect of the group, the TA is selected by the eboard and then voted on by the membership at the first general meeting of the year. The TA holds the tech meeting at the Space at the beginning of each semester. He/she appoints the tech crews for all the shows and oversees all technical aspects.
Technical List
- Director
- Producer
- Technical Director (TD)
- Stage Manager (SM)
- Master Carpenter (MC)
- House Manager
- Lighting Designer (LD)
- Sound Designer (SD)
- Props Master/Mistress
- Make-up/Hair Designer
- Costume Designer
- Build/Run Crew
- Note: Traditionally there may be assistants for all of these roles, with the exception of Master Carpenter and Build/Run Crew, since the Build Crew is basically assistants to the MC.