Taking Center Stage: SUNY Niagara’s Theater Grows Bigger and Bolder

By Madeline McGuire

The SUNY Niagara theater group is in the midst of building a new addition to their wing while they prepare for their upcoming shows this semester. Professor Raymond Boucher, the theater coordinator, says that they are “currently building a studio/performance space in the F Building that can accommodate performance classes, small performances, improv workshops, small music ensembles, and more.” They already have a 700-seat auditorium and a 50-seat black box theater, so this new addition will just add to the space they can utilize for what they need.

They have two shows they are rehearsing for this semester. Their first one is this week: “My Cup Ranneth Over.” It’s a one-act comedy in F108, the Blackbox theatre. Here is their schedule:

Wednesday 10/22 at 7

Thursday 10/23 at 12:30

Friday 10/24 at 7

Saturday 10/25 at 3 and 7

In November, they have another one, which will be held in the main auditorium. This one will be William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” Here is the schedule:

Wednesday, 11/19 at 7

Thursday, 11/20 at 12:30

Friday, 11/21 at 7

Saturday, 11/22 at 3 and 7

The show planned for the spring semester will be a huge hit for book and movie fans! They will be doing “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical.” The schedule for that one is as follows:

Wednesday, 4/22 at 7

Thursday, 4/23 at 10:30

Friday 4/24 at 10:30

Saturday, 4/25 at 3 and 7

Shows are free for all students, so feel free to check any of these out!

If you would like to audition for a show, Raymond says to “Look for notices around campus and sign up for Drama Production Class, as it is a requirement to take the class in order to perform in the show. The same thing goes for the stage crew. Either Professor Boucher or a drama student usually runs the box office during shows, so if that interests you as well, check out the Drama Production Class! Any student can join the class. It is not limited to theatre students.

There are currently no work-study jobs available, so if any of these ideas interest you, your best bet is to sign up for the Drama Production class or to contact Raymond Boucher at rboucher@niagaracc.suny.edu for more information.