Thursday, December 08, 2022
20 Years of Playground at CMU Drama
Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama: The week of December 5-10, 2022 marks the twentieth anniversary of Playground, the School of Drama’s entirely student-run theater festival which takes place annually at the end of the fall semester. During Playground week, all drama classes are canceled, and within a four-day rehearsal period, students write, direct, design, perform, and produce original works. Performances and installations are open to the public and take place December 8-10 in various locations throughout the Purnell Center for the Arts.
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5 comments:
As a freshman experiencing their first playground this is definitely a part of School drama I'm very glad it exists. I've been planning for playground since before I actually committed to CMU And I'm so excited for the next 3 playgrounds to come. I definitely agree with a lot of the upperclassmen and what they were saying. I've met so many people on this playground that I had not met before, especially Juniors because the freshmen tend to not interact and form connections that will definitely help me throughout my schooling education and beyond. Playground also taught me a lot about what I am capable of as I was working on five pieces including managing and puzzle mastering one of the installations. I am definitely excited for the next playground and knowing that I'm involved in a festival that has so much history and success stories that came out of it is really inspiring and often reminds me what I'm working towards in the school of drama.
Theo
Playground was back and better than ever this year. Freshman year, I didn’t get as involved with Playground as I should have been, but once it was all taken away from us, all I wanted to do was be a part of it. Last year, I was heavily involved with what was going to be somewhat of an in person festival until that ultimately ended up being canceled. I am so glad I got to be so heavily involved this year with being one of the team members that designed the lighting rig in the lobby. It definitely provided a community space for the entire Drama community and it was even more special than I had hoped. Seeing everyone come together and dance and sing together in the lobby was so special to me and I am so glad to have experienced that one last time before I graduate. There was a ton of work that went into this, but seeing all of that made the sleepless nights worth it.
What I think makes Playground so special and what I was continuously struck by during the last week is the sense of community. I came to CMU post-COVID so I have no first-hand knowledge of what the department was like pre-pandemic, but it has become very apparent to me that we have been lacking community. All departments are so spread out and most students only stick to their designated areas. The lobby is a communal space, but even then, I mostly see individual majors clumping together. There's a lot of love and warmth amongst the crowd, but little mingling. I know I'm guilty of this too, but I also just very much feel like the creepy older grad student so I avoid subjecting people to me. But what Playground offers is a chance to break out of these conceived boxes and willingly come together. A lot of the projects were very much "this is a piece I'm putting together with my friends" which is totally okay, but I think over time as Playground regains its place in Purnell there will be broader collaboration. Obviously, the pandemic destroyed a lot in the way of community, not only in the building but in the industry at large. It's easy to be discouraged by that, but projects like Playground make it clear that there is not only a hunger for Drama-wide community, but that it still exists, it just needs to be nurtured. My hope is that the joy and togetherness that I witnessed this last week can be carried forward and nurtured not only in future Playground, but in everyday life in Purnell.
Playground is such a great opportunity for student at the school of drama. This being a conservatory, we are often siloed into our respective departments with our heads down. We often don’t see the forest for the trees because we are too busy working on our own elements. I know there is a desire, especially from some of the younger students, to incorporate more interdisciplinary learning, into their SoD experience. I think playground is a great way to accomplish that. It offers students a relative carte blanche to create whatever they want within their own capabilities, and they quickly learn what is in and out of their scope. They get to explore other departments and learn what kind of work goes on behind doors that they don’t see for the rest of the year. I got to work on a little lighting for an installation by Kaylie Carpenter. I haven’t been able to do lighting since before the pandemic, so I was very grateful to flex those creative muscles. I think this playground was an all-around success.
As a grad student, I feel I have an interesting relationship with playground. But I absolutely recognize the importance of its existence. As an undergrad, we had a lively APO chapter (theatre fraternity/honor society) that did a ton of secondary season events like 24 hour theatre, 10 minute play festivals, fundraisers and creative opportunities outside of the mainstage productions. I think those experiences were super fulfilling creatively and socially, and helped me discover areas of interest within theatre outside of what I did every day. I think because the cmu program is so rigid in a lot of ways, those kinds of experiences are somewhat limited, but playground absolutely is along the same lines and allows for creative freedom and for students to take true ownership of artistic work. I loved reading about the original hopes for the festival and some of the exciting things produced in past festivals.
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