There are certain things most college theater programs have. To start with, they have a nice theater, and maybe even more than one. They may also have a scene shop, where sets are built, painted and assembled. Perhaps they have a costume shop and storage areas. Add to that list some dressing rooms, sound and lighting equipment, and a nice, hefty budget for putting on lavish productions.
Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC) doesn’t have any of that. The budget is small, there is no scene shop and one beleaguered professor runs the whole thing. BCTC also has no costumes, no equipment, and most surprising of all, no theater.
It would seem that they have nothing. But as Paul Newman’s lovable chain-gang convict Lucas Jackson reminded us, sometimes nothing can be “a real cool hand.” Tim “X” Davis, the coordinator of theatre and film at the Bluegrass Community and Technical College in Lexington, has built an associate of fine arts degree in theatre out of that bit of nothing. Students are enrolling in that program, earning their associate’s degree, and many go on to earn a bachelor’s degree of fine arts at a four-year college. But why go the BCTC route? Why not enroll straightaway in one of the other universities with a well-equipped department? And how does BCTC do any actual theater there, without the usual trappings of theater?
The cost of getting that associate’s degree at BCTC is a fraction of what it would cost at most other colleges. The degree consists of general education classes, core theater courses and electives.
But there’s more to the attraction of BCTC’s program than the savings.
BCTC’s program may not have everything in-house, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get it. Davis has been taking his shows into the community, putting on plays in venues such as the Downtown Arts Center, Actors’ Guild of Lexington, performance spaces at the Talon Winery and other places. The students at BCTC put their shows on, not in some cloistered intramural setting, but in the same theaters that the bigger shows play in. And as a result, they get some of the same audience share: non-student general public.
Putting on shows in these venues means that students get to work in and learn the lighting, sound, scene shop and other equipment of these bigger theaters. And because Davis rotates where he puts on shows, they learn a variety of setups.
BCTC auditions are generally open to the public. Because Davis makes it his business to work in local theaters himself, he often gets a healthy showing of experienced actors, designers and crew who frequent the shows at Actors’ Guild, Studio Players and other area theaters.
Allie Darden is a Lexington theater staple who also does shows with BCTC. Darden was in BCTC’s world premiere production of Beth Kander’s “See Jane Quit,” which was staged at the Downtown Arts Center. Doing a new show appealed to her.
“That was the first college production I’ve done in many years. I had always wanted to work with Tim, and I loved the script,” Darden said.
Kander, a Mississippi playwright, says working with BCTC on that production of her original script was definitely a plus for her.
“I came away from the production with supporting materials that helped me take my script to the next stage,” Kander said. “Now, it’s represented by Steele Spring Theatrical Licensing in Los Angeles, thanks in large part to BCTC, Professor Tim X. Davis, LexArts and the Lexington arts community.”
One of Kander’s newer plays, “Scrambled,” is on the roster for BCTC in the fall. It has already received the 2012 Charles M. Getchell Award for best new play at the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC).
Another actress who moves easily between BCTC, Actors’ Guild, Studio Players and Balagula Theatre is Hayley Williams.
“I do shows with BCTC because I love that Tim mixes local talent with the students for a real learning experience,” Williams said. “The students can learn from us, and since it is an educational environment, I even learn new things myself at times.”
Davis also pointed out that BCTC’s smaller class sizes give students opportunities that they normally might not get in their first two years of theater in college. These include a better chance at lead roles, but also opportunities to stage manage, work with area artistic and technical directors on sets, and even direct shows.
That doesn’t mean that BCTC only puts on little shows, though. Earlier this year, they had a sellout run at the Downtown Arts Center with the hit musical “Chicago.”
Davis also draws from his pool of friends in the business to come in and teach workshops to his students. Beth Kander will be doing a playwriting workshop this year. Jason Tate, a former Davis protégé and cast member, is now a certified instructor with the Society of American Fight Directors. He will be doing a stage combat workshop this year. And Dave Clemons, an acclaimed casting director from New York City, has taught workshops at BCTC in the past.
Even though BCTC is expanding, there are currently no plans to give the theater program a home in that space. Davis and his merry band pay that no mind. They’re working in theaters and around actors that most students don’t get to see.
Sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand.