Cardinal Points

Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: FUSE

Freshman Shannon Gleason rehearses a scene for Ringing Down the Curtain, which goes up in Hartman Dec. 5.

You're thrusted onto Hartman Theatre's enormous stage.

The lights flicker on and blind you with their radiance.

Now the expectant eyes of all your peers are glued to your form.

Absolutely no one knows that you're not a theater major - you came to Plattsburgh State to purse a degree in childhood education.

This could be the life of a PSUC student who takes Introduction to Acting.

Ringing Down the Curtain, a show comprised of pieces rehearsed in acting and dance classes, will showcase some of the hidden talent of PSUC - including some students who have never before performed on stage.

Being chosen for the show is an honor - the professors chose the best pieces of the semester for the performance.

Kim Hartshorn, associate professor in the theater department, is one of several acting instructors whose class is contributing to Ringing Down the Curtain.

"Ringing Down the Curtain is a recital," Hartshorn said.

"Each individual class is performing for 15-20 minutes. My class does this as a final project - other classes do it for extra credit," she said. "None of my students signed up for this, and some of them have no experience on stage. This year we have a large degree of participation."

Additionally, there is the dance component to Ringing Down the Curtain. Phillip Cole's students are going to showcase a 30-minute segment.

Hartshorn stresses the importance of exposing a wide array of different majors to the "theater experience."

He speaks about acting as though it is a rite of passage on the par of learning to drive.

"The class is beginners' acting and we're trying to increase the communication aspect," Hartshorn said.

"This gives students the experience of performing in front of an audience. Also, it teaches them to deal with and overcome the fear of being onstage," he said. "There may not be a single theater major in this class. Some of the performers are experienced, others aren't - it's a real mix."

Exceptional students are handpicked by their acting teachers, such as Hartshorn, to partake in this annual performance.

"The purpose is to take students who've done superior work and deserve to have an audience watch them," Ken Roberts, adjunct lecturer, said.

Continued...

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