by Jamin Craig | Mar 24, 2015 | News Slider
Lipscomb’s theater department is gearing up to put on its final main-stage show Dancing at Lughnasa — only this time it will be held in the University Theater to emphasize the story’s intimacy. Beki Baker, the theater department chair and director of the show, decided to do it in the University Theater because she wanted the audience to be close to the story. “It’s a really lovely, intimate play that explores the idea of memory, identity, family and things like that — that are really worthy of taking a moment, and it’s told in such a wonderful Irish storytelling way,” Baker said. The show is an Irish play that revolves around Michael, who reflects back to his life in summer of 1936. He and his mother and four sisters lived in a small house in Ireland, and he was not married yet. The play visualizes the struggles and joys Michael and his family had during that time. Doing a main-stage show in the University Theater is rarely done in the theater department, because it is heavily used as a class and studio space on a regular basis. “Right now, we’re housing two departments — the theatre and cinematic arts program,” Baker said. “We have classes in here all the time, so it’s just kind of working the space out with having all of our classes and other activities and events working in house right here. It proves some challenges for sure.” However, Baker noted that working in a challenging space often brings out more creativity in the cast and crew. “It’s just a great challenge for the designers and the...
by Haleigh Ker | Jan 24, 2014 | News Slider
Opening night is here for Blackbird Theater’s production of George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman, with the first show Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Shamblin Theatre. The Lipscomb and Nashville community is promised a show with romance, comedy, witty women and deep, philosophical conversations about the reasons of human existence. Possibly between the characters and the devil himself, with a few pieces by composer Berlioz playing on the side. Blackbird Theater’s founders Wes Driver and Greg Greene waste no breath when picking their plays for each season by finding unique shows to “thrill” the audience to inspire and create “intellectually stimulating” conversation. To create such conversations takes months of planning and script adjustments, many staff and cast meetings and weeks of rehearsal. Cast member and junior acting major Austin Hunt says that some of the characters’ monologues are up to “three to four pages long.” Show director Beki Baker has been working hard on this show since this last summer where she and her dramaturge, junior theatre major Emily Eytchison, studied Shaw’s Man and Superman. Eytchison said that they would study the time period in which Man and Superman takes place, “find the important bits and put it together for the actors” to help further character development. “The dramaturge is going to be the one who spends all their printing quota on scholarly articles,” Eytchison added, “and that dramaturge may or may not have spent most of it all in one day.” In Baker’s Directorial Statement, she compliments Shaw’s intelligence within his work, as well as his comedic wit. Aiming to explore the purpose of humanity in this universe,...
by Emily Snell | Nov 1, 2012 | News Slider
The Pajama Game, a musical about strife and romance in a 1950s pajama factory, opens Thursday in Collins Alumni Auditorium at 7 p.m. and is free for Lipscomb students. Director Beki Baker said the show, which won a Tony Award in 1954, is a classic example of a Broadway musical. “It’s about as classic a Broadway style musical as they come,” she said. The theatre faculty chose this fall’s musical together, Baker explained, saying they decided to pick something that contrasts with what they’ve done in the past couple of years. “We’ve been doing more contemporary musicals the last few years, so we wanted to do something classic,” she said. “We have a lot of females in the department this year, so we thought this would be a good way to showcase them.” Baker, who has worked as an adjunct professor at Lipscomb for four years, said she enjoys working with college students because “they’re willing to work hard.” “I really enjoy working with university students because I love seeing them learn and grow,” she said. Baker encouraged Lipscomb students to attend the show and support their classmates. “It’s good to support each other,” she said. “It’s easy to support just the sports, but we have to remember to support the arts and all types of work. We’d love to see everybody there.” The Pajama Game will be performed in Collins Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Lipscomb students can get in for free, courtesy of SGA. Other student tickets are $5, faculty tickets cost $10 and all other tickets are $15. For...
by Aaron Schmelzer | Sep 24, 2010 | News Slider
“The Glass Menagerie,” written by Tennessee Williams, opens this weekend. It is a part of Lipscomb Theater’s fall line-up of shows, the next of which is the musical “Ragtime.” “The Glass Menagerie,” directed by Beki Baker, includes a cast of Lipscomb students and opens tonight. For more information on what “The Glass Menagerie” is all about, watch below. Please upgrade your browser The Glass Menagerie Sep. 24-26 & Oct. 1-3 $5 – Students | $10 – Faculty | $15 – Individual More Info: 615-966-7075 or...
