Grand View University’s theater department puts on numerous productions each year for students and the public to enjoy. Before the production can even take to the stage, hours of contemplation and hard work must be devoted to envisioning and creating the final product.

According to Technical Director and Facilities Manager Randy Young, planning typically begins months before they even start with production.

“Theater isn’t a standard 40-hour work week,” Young said. “You never know how long it will go.”

Unlike any other departments at Grand View, the theater department has only one faculty member. Associate Professor of Speech and Theater Kristin Larson is singularly responsible for directing the plays, teaching multiple speech and theater classes and hiring adjunct professors for the classes she cannot teach.

Because there are so many things that have to be done and the department has only one faculty member, they often have to rely heavily on the students. The limited number of students, Young said, further restricts how much they are able to do and how fast they can do it.

Kristin Larson guides her performers through a rehearsal for the fall play

According to Claudia Sloat, the president of the theater club Alpha Psi Omega, there are times when it is necessary for a student to both perform on stage and assist behind stage for a single play.

“Everyone puts in way more work than they need to,” Sloat said. “And it’s not because we’re forced to, and it’s not for a major; it’s because we all love theater.”

According to Young, the department is in need of more faculty and more help in production, but they do not have the aid they need to bring people in.

“This department could be something amazing if Kristin had the support and the ability to staff it the way she envisions it,” Young said.

Despite all this, one thing Larson said she loves about the Grand View theater department is that the theater is open to anyone. Unlike previous schools she has worked at, Grand View allows all students of all years to audition for plays.

“You could be on the soccer team or the golf team or the football team and come audition for a play and get cast,” Larson said. “It’s not just open to people who know they are interested in theater; it’s open to people who are curious about theater.”