On Friday, Oct. 1, the School of Music, Theatre and Dance will present a concert of composer and lyricist Georgia Stitt’s music.
“She’s an incredible artist and activist,” director David Coolidge said. “It’s a great opportunity for our students not only to work with a great level of material, but to receive direct feedback from Georgia.”
For the past month, the department has been working every day to perfect the show.
“Once we got into rehearsal, it has been pretty intense,” Coolidge said. “We started the week before school, and now we are into tech week.”
Now that live performances are possible again, Coolidge looks to his upperclassmen to be leaders for the company.
“They are taught the skills to be successful, but we focus on why they are doing what they’re doing and how they can use their God-given abilities to be of service to the world around them,” Coolidge said.
“We have a lot of really talented performers in this concert,” junior performer Logan Wuertley said. “This show is showing off more depth from the department than ever before.”
Assistant director and senior musical theatre student Brady Day expressed how different this particular show is compared to previous shows the department has produced.
“Georgia’s music is very unique,” Day said. “It’s painful how smart [her music] is.”
Day said that the groundwork has been laid out for the performers, and it is all about how they interpret it.
Due to the strain COVID-19 has put on the world of performing arts, Coolidge has had to find creative ways for students to perform safely. For the past year, his department has partnered with the cinema and media arts department to livestream the shows. This show will be no exception.
According to Coolidge, the concert will be streamed on a truck with a large TV outside of the Krannert Fine Arts Center for the public to watch the show unmasked.
The show will also be livestreamed on the AU School of Music, Theatre and Dance’s YouTube channel, Vimeo and Facebook page for those who are unable to watch outside. The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. and is free to attend.
“The music is just beautiful,” Wuertley said. “I want everyone on this campus to hear this music because everyone has worked so hard on it.”