Faculty Showcase: Kim Axline
Theatre must be seen, not just talked about...
In the past, the Department of Theatre resorted to borrowing video equipment from other units several times per quarter to meet its needs. This all changed when a 20k grant by the Center for Teaching and Learning was awarded to Kim Axline, Associate Professor, as part of an ongoing project titled "Videography to Reinforce the Theatre Curriculum."
A video camera purchased as part of the grant allows the filming of student projects on a regular basis. The majority of seniors have used this equipment to film individual rehearsals for faculty feedback, in their senior practicum, and to document their senior projects for purposes such as graduate school admissions. Four seniors have also used these recordings as research for their honors theses; two of which were published in SYMPOSIUM (DU's journal of undergraduate research).
The integration of video playback in the classroom has helped students better understand various periods, genres and cultures. It reinforces the department's mantra that artistic theory must be put into practice and that theatre is a performing art that must be seen, not just talked about. Filming is used to help acting students respond to their in-class performances, as well as to help design students step back from their work and see it in another light.
Since the purchase of this equipment, every main-stage production has been filmed using the camera. Videos filmed during the past 5 yrs will be given to Penrose Library for streaming in any class or discipline that requests access to live-performances of seminal plays. These videos have also served as portfolio materials for designers and audition excerpts for actors. The equipment has been used by over 200 students in at least six courses and the use of archived productions in regional showcases and competitions is certain to increase in the years ahead.