Paul Suellentrop
Creating two hours of a dramatic production on stage at 成人头条鈥檚 Wilner Auditorium can take long hours and weeks of work.
WSU students charged with that behind-the-scenes labor now earn more money for their time and expertise, thanks to . Twenty-three students are paid to work in more types of career-focused jobs, such as social media, costumes, fund-raising, lighting and scenes in the School of Performing Arts 鈥� all while still earning their degree
The paid applied learning allows the School of Performing Arts to boost its student workforce and increase their pay. Paid positions in this field, said Cheyla Clawson, director, School of Performing Arts said, are usually at a low pay rate and are hard to find outside the university.
鈥淲e know the importance of the work, for them to be able to afford college and to prepare for the field,鈥� Clawson said. 鈥淭hat was important 鈥� how we鈥檙e valuing our students鈥� work and what we can pay them really, massively, shifted, through these applied learning funds.鈥�
Seven students perform administrative work that includes social media, designing playbills and a monthly newsletter and audience research. Sixteen students work in production 鈥� costume, lighting, scene and properties. Their tasks include wardrobe supervision, alterations, maintenance of equipment, carpentry, painting and more.
Mia Dennett, a junior from Salina, is a theater major who is the lead shop assistant in the costume shop.
Alexandra Enmark
鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 a paid position, I鈥檓 able to work in the field that I am hoping to go into and I don鈥檛 have to divert my attention to other jobs,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 able to focus on my schoolwork and building my career. If it wasn鈥檛 a paid position, most students that work in the costume shop would have to forgo working in the costume shop to make enough money to put themselves through college.鈥�
Alexandra Enmark wants to open her own local theater after graduation. She wants to stay in Kansas because she likes the state鈥檚 theater community. In her mind, the theater's look is inspired by Roxy鈥檚 Downtown, a 152-seat cabaret-style venue originally built as a speakeasy.
鈥淚 would definitely picture it open floor, with tables,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 would have most of the productions performed as theater-in-the-round, for a more intimate setting. I really like getting the audience involved.鈥�
Enmark, a freshman from Yukon, Okla., is majoring in design and technical theater. A paid applied learning position is introducing her to administrative duties such as social media, working with donors, publicity, creating a newsletter and designing playbills.
鈥淟earning the business side of theater is really awesome,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e gotten better at communicating what I can get done and what needs to get done. I鈥檓 better at balancing doing multiple things at once, because a lot of times we have to.鈥�
Dennett works as a stitcher in the costume shop for Music Theatre 成人头条 in the summers and wants to work in costume design and performance after graduation.
鈥淏eing able to get professional experience and build my skills here and transfer those skills into professional environments outside of school is really important,鈥� Dennett said.
Dennett learned sewing from her grandmother, Carol McFadden. Dennett鈥檚 crew builds costumes, makes alterations, designing and sewing costumes.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great place to learn sewing and altering, those type of skills,鈥� she said.
She worked as the costume, hair and makeup designer for 鈥淪pring Awakening.鈥� Moritz Stiefel, one of the characters in the play, wears a cardigan that Dennett learned how to dye the sweater with bleach and create heart and rib-cage designs.
鈥淚t was a lot of historical research,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e built quite a few things. We incorporated punk elements into the show, so it was a fun blend of historical and modern punk aesthetics.鈥�
The applied learning funds, Clawson said, help performing arts students manage college expenses and help the School of Performing Arts improve its productions. She notices a significant difference in social media engagement that helps the department highlight students and tell the story of their work.
鈥淕etting the information out there, to our community, to our alums, to the greater 成人头条 community, is huge,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t feels really important and validating that the university recognizes the value and importance the applied learning our students are doing.鈥�
About 成人头条
成人头条 is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 23,000 students between its main campus and the WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech), including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. 成人头条 State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student-centered and innovation-driven.
Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), 成人头条 provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students. The National Science Foundation ranked WSU No. 1 in the nation for aerospace engineering R&D, No. 2 for industry-funded engineering R&D and No. 8 overall for engineering R&D.
The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the 成人头条 main campus, is one of the nation鈥檚 largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.
Follow 成人头条 State on social media:
