By: Bella Dunbar
The Green Room Theater Company is an extracurricular offered here at Olivet Nazarene University through the communication department. It is a student-led theater company on campus. This extracurricular used to be a club, but board members realized the club format didn’t really fit with what the company sought to do. Just this year, they dropped the club status. This extracurricular puts on productions on campus, holds events, and does other theater-related things.
Quincy Dillman is the current president of the Green Room Theater Company. The role she plays is coordinating events and shows, helping to manage the schedule for shows and performances, and working with Professor Ashley Sarver, the head of the theater department, to coordinate things on campus and communicating ideas for opportunities to get involved in theater with the student body here on campus.
Dillman got involved with the Green Room Theater Company early on in her freshman year here at Olivet. While she was participating in one of the school’s productions, other students mentioned Green Room to her and asked her if she wanted to join. She happily agreed right away. At the end of her freshman year, she was asked to join the Green Room council. She agreed and became the secretary of the board the following year.
Dillman gets the board members together once every week on Monday at 10am. These meetings are typically short because she likes to get to the point right away. She explains to the board whatever they have going on that week, and then proceeds to open the floor up for questions and suggestions at the end of the meeting. She always makes sure every member knows what they are responsible for that upcoming week.
The Green Room Theater Company, in the past, has done one show per semester. But this year they are doing something different. There is now a Green Room Company Theater Hour, which is a one hour show that happens every Wednesday at 6pm. This show is pretty much “up for grabs,” which means that students can just sign up to put on whatever show they want in that time slot. On top of these smaller shows, Green Room still does two full length shows per year. Rehearsals meet depending on who is directing a show. Along with Professor Ashley Sarver, students have the opportunity to direct shows through the Green Room Theater Company.
There are many other people involved in Green Room besides Dillman. The council consists of around eight or nine people, and the general population is around 15-200 students from various backgrounds and skill levels.
Just like Spark, Green Room Theater Company is a great way for students from all different majors and interests to express themselves creatively through the art of performance and theater. All students who share a love of theater can come together in a safe space and express themselves.
The shows Green Room puts out are usually held in Sims in the new black box theater.
“If you are interested in theater in any way at Olivet, Green Room is your first go to place. We encompass anybody who has ever had any interest in getting in involved in theater here.”
-Quincy dillman
