By Jeremiah Rojas, Co-Managing Editor
If you’ve ever taken a lower-division arts and humanities course at Dominguez Hills, you were likely required to attend a University Theatre production. But here’s a question: if it wasn’t a requirement, would you ever attend a performance on your own?
I took an introductory speech class during my first semester at Dominguez Hills. One assignment asked us to write a one-page analysis of a theatre production – simple enough. Now, granted, this was during the height of distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so I had to watch a virtual performance. I enjoyed the show and was encouraged to have followed the department closely ever since.
Last semester, I wrote a preview of the play Hurt Village for The Bulletin. After speaking with the cast and director, I gained a whole new appreciation for the dedication and hard work our theatre arts students and faculty put into these productions.
This semester, I’ve been assigned another review – this time for my acting class. I think it’s great that these classes have students actually watch the performances. But I wonder, how could these productions draw an audience that isn’t just there to fulfill a course requirement?
I’ve noticed that most of the promotional material for University Theatre productions can be found along the West Walkway. Outside of the theatre building, shows are usually advertised on posters or sandwich boards placed in the area between the Cain Library and LaCorte Hall.
I’m not at all saying the university is ignoring the department. I know shows are displayed on the LED billboard located on the corner of Victoria St. and Avalon Blvd., but I’d wager most people there are focused more on the road. Besides that, I haven’t seen much promotion around the rest of campus.
Students frequent the Loker Student Union and East Walkway a lot, and dedicating more real estate in these high-traffic areas to promoting campus productions could help raise awareness of the wonderful work our peers are doing.
“Maybe if there were more things – like those little sandwich boards, if we were able to move those around,” said Mary Martinez, the Theatre Department’s publicity director and graphic designer. “We have to seek approval before, so I get it, [but] maybe more allowances to [post] those posters and whatnot just so we can get the word out.”
The bulletin boards around campus have so many notices on them already, but there’s little information about the University Theatre. I know these flyers are easy to ignore sometimes, but more opportunities to get the word out could boost the profile of the department and its students.
In the meantime, Martinez has put effort into word-of-mouth advertising. On a close-knit campus like CSUDH, that sort of endorsement can go a long way.
“I was trying to open a Snapchat, any type of little outlet where I could put something on there, that’s what I’m trying to do,” Martinez said. “But it does propose a challenge, there’s so much more we can do.”
Some of those challenges, Martinez said, include enlisting the help of student volunteers to design and create alternative promotional materials by hand. It’s just another example of the level of dedication theatre students, faculty, and staff have for their art.
At the end of the day, that’s what it comes down to: love for the art. Whether on stage or working behind the scenes, the Toros producing for the University Theatre pour their hearts into every performance. For that, I think they deserve more than a course-required standing ovation.
