My beat for Broadcast Beat Reporting is the Kent State University Theatre. The beat will focus on the students, faculty, performances, and the creation that makes up the Kent State theatre.

There are multiple stories within the theatre. The first story coming up is the musical My Heart is the Drum. Directed by Terri Kent, the Director of Musical Theatre. The musical is brand new to the National Alliance for Musical Theatre and has a mostly African American cast. The musical will open February 20th.

Another story option is the Kent Dance Ensemble. The Kent Dance Ensemble is a pre-professional dance company with the school of dance. This year they are celebrating their 25th anniversary. There will be special guest chorographers and returning alumni Easter weekend.

In March the Student Dance Festival, also known as the senior concert, will be one of the event for that month. This concert will be two days full of choreographed pieces by the seniors.

There is also a senior showcase for musical theatre and acting students to showcase their work before being sent to New York, where they will perform in front of agencies and producers. There are 18 students being sent this year, one of their biggest groups.

The Kent State theatre not only has their house theatres but it also has a professional theatre that is run during the summer. The Porthouse Theatre. This theatre is located at the Blossom Music Center. It has 3 shows playing during the summer.

The dean of the college of the Arts, John Crawford, was a professor of dance. He is now the dean. I feel like this could be an interesting profile.

There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes. A lot of people forget what goes into bringing the plays and musicals to life. There’s costume, the set, and lighting. There is also a husband and wife design team. The wife is one of the heads of the costume department and the husband is the head of the set design team.

One of the biggest things that determine what productions the school chooses to do for the season is the ticket sales. Will this show fill a 500-seated theatre? It would be interesting to see what happens when ticket sales do well and when they don’t and what the board does during these situations.

In order to get in contact with the people that is in charge of these productions I am in contact with Joni Koneval. She is the head of PR and Marketing for the school of Theatre and Dance. I will go through her before I go to anyone else in the school of Theatre and Dance.