The Gadfly Café hosted its third and final edition of the semester at the Levinson Hall on Apr. 3.
“To enjoy theatre, should one understand it to enjoy it?” was a question asked by BC student Cesar Lopez, which kicked off the discussion between professors and students regarding theatre and its purpose.
BC professors Brian Sivesind and Reggie Williams hosted the roundtable talk. Williams made sure that “everyone walked out with a sense of thinking differently and being able to live in a world with multiple perspective.”
Both brought up many different points to engage the students into the conversation. For example, should theatre be pushing the comfort zone on the audience? They also discussed how an actor/actress feels about being in production feeling a sense of belonging and being more than just yourself.
They also discussed about the inevitable rise of A.I., and how it will change the landscape for future live performances or plays, whether in a positive manner or not.
Sivesind, a BC professor in the theater department, talked about the importance of these conversations, not only for the purpose of theatre, but for students to be able to share their own viewpoints. It led to some “opening up” moments of critical thinking between the roundtable.
Students from different degrees and viewpoints gave their thoughts on why they feel theatre has a purpose, from actors/actress, a wrestler, and even an engineering student who found his love for plays joining a theatre class.
Cesar Lopez, an engineering major student at BC, joined a theatre class on accident thinking it might have been something different. But after spending more time in the class, he started to engage with the plays he worked with.
“As an engineer who joined theater class thinking it was something else, it was new. As time passed and understanding and reading the plays, and once I got into Hamlet, that’s why I love plays and understand the purpose of it.” said Lopez.