Thank you to our theatre professors

Gordon College

To all professors and administrators of the performing arts, 

I think I speak for all students when I say thank you for keeping live theater alive in a virtual classroom. 

With most colleges and universities finishing up their fall 2020 semesters, we can all breathe again as final grades go in, and term projects are submitted. The work is done, and you deserve most, if not all of the credit for it. 

It is not easy completing a college career through “Zoom University”, and for all the students going to school for a degree in the performing arts, it has become twice as hard to get through the semester. When your training depends mostly on live performances and physically working with others, it doesn’t give much hope of getting the most out of your tuition and experiences. 

For most of us going into another virtual semester this fall, we dragged our feet as we attended classes knowing we wouldn’t have the same experiences we once had on campus, but you all had other plans for us. 

You arranged productions and rehearsals into all hours of the night on Zoom. You created cabaret nights and play festivals. Most importantly, you kept us as happy as you could. 

You could have easily turned courses into dramaturgy classes, analyzing plays and talking about them, because what more could you do, given the limitations? But you decided to think outside the box, and it was much appreciated. 

Allowing us more opportunities than when we were on campus to perform kept our spirits up and really gave us hope for a brighter semester. After having a curveball thrown into the middle of our last semester, having to switch completely online, and turning our lives upside down and backward, there wasn’t much to look forward to. 

We needed this more than ever. We needed to connect with one another and to feel like an ensemble once again, in a time where there is so much uncertainty. Your ideas and teachings inspired us to do so many other things this semester. Most of all, you inspired us to finish off the semester strong. 

My online theater classes went from being my most dreaded to my most loved courses. Sometimes I even forgot we were limited by screens. You were nothing but encouraging and understanding, and through this, you taught me to have a better outlook on situations and to just go with the flow.  

As the last week of classes wrapped up, I was heartbroken, and for the first time ever I didn’t want to accept that classes were coming to an end. I had more fun and learned way more online than I ever did on campus. And it is likely that you will never hear me say that again. 

Looking forward to the Spring, if you are a virtual student for yet another semester, hang in there. We are almost over that hump and before you know it, you’ll get to actually meet all your professors in person. 

So, from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for making this semester the best that you could have possibly made it. Logging on every day was that much easier because you were on the other side of the screen ready to welcome us.  

Sincerely, 

Your students