Dancing at Lughnasa at SUNY Ulster
by M.R. Smith
Theatregoers in the Hudson Valley have it pretty good here most of the year. Bard, Vassar, SUNY New Paltz, Shadowlands, Boscobel (to name just a few) all provide a premium quality of thespian activity, while numerous NYC-stage and screen ex-pats call Dutchess and Ulster counties home, occasionally lending talent, encouragement, and expertise.
Lately, there’s been talk of a resurgence of young collegiate theatre at SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge, largely based on the success of November ‘07’s The Foreigner, by Larry Shue. (Discerning attendees from this very magazine gave it raves.) The reason for this: a new state-funded two-year arts program for the theatre arts and its new director, Jerry Bradley. The result of this? Eighteen majors, up from three, and full theatre houses, mostly by word of mouth.
But some might wonder: what’s the point? Let’s be honest. College students aren’t really encouraged to go the theatre route these days; it just doesn’t pay the bills. But maybe they’re being misinformed. The ability to speak well and make a point, to use your body to communicate effectively, and understand the well-written word still has a real value in this modern age, maybe more than we’d like to admit. The great theatre pieces are the great stories of history retold, with a deeper understanding of the human condition available therein. Cooperation, trust, and teamwork are essential to even the smallest performance. Maybe a theatre major makes sense after all.
Jerry Bradley certainly thinks so. He knows he’s teaching more than just a theatre curriculum. “It’s life management skills. If you want to be in the arts, you have to be able to manage your own time. You’re not working for someone who tells you how to do that...
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