For over 30 years, LSU has been thriving in its artistic pursuits, with its strong opera, music, theater and — more recently — film programs. The film school is much younger than the other programs, but it has been steadily growing.
On March 26, it was officially announced that the LSU College of Music & Dramatic Arts will be renamed as the LSU School of Theatre & Film. The news has been met with excitement from many students and faculty, but some remain apprehensive. Talks about a name change have been going on for a while, but it wasn’t until the LSU Board of Regents meeting this past week that the change was approved.
The school’s press release about the change stated, “Since its inception, the film program has transformed into a vital pipeline for students pursuing careers in all areas of the cinematic arts. What began as a modest initiative with a dozen enrollees has exploded in popularity, now nearly matching the size of the storied theatre program.”
Skylar Carson is a freshman theatre major who was happy about the news and the inclusion of film majors, but she began to wonder what the change would mean for the theatre department. As a theatre major, Carson knows first-hand how theater is often underfunded and overlooked. The fear that the theatre program will lose funding to film, which is more expensive, is present.
In the department, some theater classes have been disappearing or are being consolidated. For example, Theatre History I, II and III are being consolidated into two classes.
“Theatre History III literally goes from the 19th century to now,” Carson said, “and if you take that away and you’re combining that with Theatre History II, then it’s like you’re losing almost 100 years of relevant history.”
Carson’s hope for the future is that the name change is a sign that the programs can stand side by side. She also hopes that the change results in more funding for the LSU School of Theatre & Film.
Ethan Hood is a senior double major in technical theatre and film, and he said he was happy to hear the name change news.
“When telling people that I am majoring in film under the School of Theatre, it felt like I was being forced to say that film was lesser than theater,” Hood said, “so this new naming makes everything feel balanced and lets the two mediums coexist in a way that wasn’t present before.”
Hood did qualify his excitement by saying that though he is glad for the change, it still feels as if there are not enough film classes for students. Conversely, some theatre students feel as if the name change may have come a bit early.
Bella Rodriguez is a senior technical theatre major who feels like the name change was somewhat abrupt. For her, there is the present feeling that the program is not fully realized yet.
“I’ve seen a lot of people that are overjoyed about it,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like it’s not official until they take the time to create more classes and enough classes that film students can fill out their degree.”
As a technical theatre student, it has been a struggle for her to get into classes that are directly related to her specialization. Rodriguez said it has been frustrating to fight for space that film majors are taking up since there aren’t many film classes.
“I feel like it signifies that we are both at equal playing fields, but I don’t think it’s fair to film students because they don’t have enough classes here yet,” she said. “So I’m hoping that in the future, they expand the film program so that we all can be immersed in our niches without one person having to suffer.”
Kendall Duncan, a freshman film major, loves the name change and feels that it will give both programs equal importance.
“I think this will help our film program be taken more seriously,” Duncan said. “Doesn’t it sound better to say you have a film degree from the LSU School of Theatre & Film?”
The LSU theatre department emerged back in 1991, and in1998 it merged with the School of Music, creating the College of Music & Dramatic Arts. It wasn’t until 2012 that LSU started dabbling in film. As the film program grew, so did investments and opportunities. With LSU’s Geaux Film program, very similar to the theatre program’s Lab shows, there is a push to allow students to grow and develop their capabilities.
Dr. Eric Lau, Dean of the College of Music and Dramatic Arts, said in the press release, “At LSU, one of the defining strengths of our Film & Television program is its place alongside the university’s outstanding Theatre program within the College of Music & Dramatic Arts. This distinctive relationship creates a rich collaborative environment in which students engage across disciplines, expand their artistic and professional horizons, and prepare to lead in an evolving creative landscape.”
The future of the LSU Theatre & Film program may be unwritten, but there is momentum for a strong and brighter future. Though the film program is new, it has grown in major ways, and the growth is being acknowledged with the name change.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source lsureveille.com ’
