New Program Enhances Cultural Opportunities

Pictured (left to right): Nikki Jameson '11, Johnny Buse '11, Dean of Students Travis Greene, Alice Thornewill '11, Marrissa Lenoir '11, Erica Seltzer-Schultz '12, Stephanie Wang '11
— Photo courtesy of Nikki Jameson '11 Attention all theatre lovers! Grinnell @ the Guthrie has arrived. A new program brought to the school by student affairs leaders and theatre fanatics Travis Greene and Houston Dougharty, "Grinnell @ the Guthrie" gives students the opportunity to travel to Minneapolis and see great plays at the famous Guthrie Theatre for a reduced price.

Although my heavy eyes were reluctant to open at 6 in the morning on the first Saturday of fall break, by the end of the day I found myself happily satisfied with my experience of "Grinnell @ the Guthrie".

The day started off with four sleepy hours in a minivan as Travis Greene drove the group of six students through thick morning fog toward Minneapolis. "I was pretty nervous at first to be traveling with mostly strangers, but I thought we got to know each other fairly quickly," says Stephanie Wang '11. Marrissa Lenoir '11 also says the trip was a great way to make new friends. "The size of the group was perfect — I felt like the trip took people who otherwise would not really spend time together and put them in a situation where they got to know each other," she says.

The first play we saw was A View From the Bridge by Arthur Miller. With rich performances by a talented cast and a suspenseful plot, the play kept audience members on the edge of their seats. "A View From the Bridge had wonderful direction and stage design," says Greene. Even more exciting was getting to watch John Carroll Lynch, famous movie and television actor, perform on stage as the star of the play.

The cherry on top was when the cast came out after the play for a question and answer session with the audience. "It was great to hear how the actors interpreted the piece and found their motivation for their roles," says Greene.

After the play, the group went out to eat together at Buca Di Beppo, a restaurant that prides itself in serving abnormally large portions of Italian food. After eating enormous amounts of pasta and laughing about how much food was still left over, we realized that we chose to dine at an Italian restaurant after watching a play that had a plot largely about Italian immigration. "It's funny that we had Italian food for dinner. It showed me how much the U.S. has absorbed Italian culture," Wang says.

Since everyone was felt too full to do anything active, dinner was followed by a relaxing sunset drive through the Twin Cities. "It definitely gave me a new appreciation for our own campus buildings," Wang said after seeing the campuses of University of Minnesota and Macalester.

Although it was quite a departure from the first show of the day, everyone enjoyed the second play, The Caretaker by Harold Pinter. "I've been told that Pinter can sometimes be 'out there,'" says Greene. "I wouldn't disagree with that assertion — but I enjoyed it nonetheless." The second theatre was much smaller than the first and the play was very personal, especially since there were only three characters. "The viewer had to be … cerebral. I thought that the character development and acting were seamless, although at times it was hard to consistently pay attention to what was going on," says Lenoir. After the play, sleepy and full of food and theatre, everyone piled back in the van for the long drive back to Grinnell.

So what does the future hold for "Grinnell @ the Guthrie" programs? In November, 12 Grinnell students will participate in an overnight program in Minneapolis with vice president of student affairs Houston Dougharty — a great way to avoid that late night drive back. More "Grinnell @ the Guthrie" programs are coming in the spring, including a trip to see Spring Awakening in Des Moines in late January. Grinnellians traveling to the Guthrie may be interested to note that Jacques Brunswick '76 is the theater's chief administrative officer.

Dougharty is also looking to take some students to New York City during spring break to experience a little bit of Broadway. That sounds like an experience no theatre lover would want to miss!

Interested? Contact Houston Dougharty, vice president for student affairs, for more information about the program.
— Alice Thornewill '11