At the end of every show, there comes a time for a curtain call. The performers step forward to receive the audience’s acknowledgement for their good work, bow and run offstage to roars of applause.
This week, seniors Ris Bland and Josiah Friesen, both of whom have been heavily involved in the Taylor Theatre department, will be participating in a very different curtain call. They will stand on a stage before a cheering crowd, not to celebrate the end of a show, but to let the curtain fall on their time at Taylor.
As Bland and Friesen reflected on their experiences with Taylor Theatre, both agreed that they are leaving behind a full and rich legacy of artistic work.
“I wanna say this (Guys and Dolls) is my 15th show,” Bland said. “I’ve either done 15 onstage or I’ve done 15 total and 13 onstage. I also did a year as the scenic artist and this is my second year being sound designer for Taylor Theatre.”
Bland’s level of multifaceted involvement in the theatre department is something Josiah Friesen also experienced. While Friesen served on the theatre’s production staff, he also had the opportunity to be a part of several shows, including Newsies, The Madwoman of Chaillot, and Annie.
Whether working behind the scenes or onstage, Friesen looked back on his time in the theatre with deep appreciation.
“I really felt like Tracy was really trusting me with something important,” said Friesen. “That was such a wonderful experience — getting to work with so many people from across Taylor’s campus, because ‘Newsies’ brought in actors who don’t normally do Taylor shows.”
The work itself on the shows was anything but easy. With four shows a season to be a part of and countless demands on their attention, Bland and Friesen acknowledged that it was difficult to keep up the pace.
In the midst of all the commitments and productions, both seniors agreed that they are grateful that they chose to participate so much in the program.
They also affirm that it’s not a bad idea to take a break from doing shows once in a while to live a more balanced life as a student.
“I think that the lesson I learned at the end of my freshman year was that you don’t have to do everything,” Friesen said. “In addition to the mainstage shows, there’s lyric theatre, but then there’s also one acts and 10-minute scenes. There are so many opportunities to do theatre here.”
The Taylor Theatre department is not isolated to the productions taking place in Mitchell. With the upcoming one acts and 10-minute scenes — one of which Friesen himself wrote — students wishing to perform or participate in theatre have plenty of options to choose from.
The ability to participate so much in various forms of performance on campus, and the deep community of the theatre itself, will serve graduating seniors well as they begin to cultivate their professional careers.
Bland stated that director Tracy Manning’s mantra of “turning your eyes outward” to truly see and love your scene partners and the people around you has enabled her to become a less selfish actor and deeply impacted her faith.
This outward, faith-centric focus has also served Bland well with some of the troubling material within plays she has participated in at Taylor, something she said she will take with her post-graduation.
“There’s no place so dark that God can’t be found,” Bland said. “I think we’ve covered some dark and some heavy stuff (in the shows at Taylor), and no matter how dark they seem, God always shows up. Every single time.”
Soon the curtain will fall on these two seniors and their time at Taylor. But the light of the Gospel they proclaim in their work will go on, and the darkness of this world will not overcome it.
