Dim lights rise in the Black Box Theater, furnished with two wooden platforms, an upright piano, and a short, circular stage painted with a map of the night sky. The audience surrounds the thrust stage on three sides. A woman in Edwardian clothing with an old-fashioned hearing aid around her neck enters the stage and stands on the star chart, gazing upwards.
Read moreInside Skidmore’s Black Box Double Feature: An Interview with Tatsu Rivera and Gemma Siegler
Earlier this semester, Skidmore’s Theater Department presented a unique double-feature of two student shows: The Chaparral written and directed by Tatsu Rivera (‘22), as well as Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel’s And Baby Makes Seven directed by Gemma Siegler (‘22). The shows were performed in Skidmore’s Blackbox theater, which is a small, versatile performance space that can be easily transformed into different sets. After attending the shows on the opening night, March 4th, 2022, I had the privilege of interviewing both Rivera and Siegler to gain insight into the creative processes behind the productions.
Read more“Becoming Othello: A Black Girl’s Journey” Gifted to Skidmore from Debra Ann Byrd
On October 1st, Skidmore College had its first live performance in the JKB Theater in over a year and a half: Becoming Othello: A Black Girl’s Journey, performed by Debra Ann Byrd. Byrd (who uses she/they pronouns) is an actor, director, and founder of both the Harlem Shakespeare Festival and Take Wing And Soar Productions.
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