A new organization on campus has the goal of fundraising for theater and performance students’ study abroad trips.
Global Cascade was formed to help theater and performance students pay for the required study abroad trip that students in the major must take spring semester of their junior year.
Emily Fruendt, theater and performance sophomore, is the group’s president. She said Global Cascade is trying to become more active on campus.
“It started in the class before mine,” Fruendt said. “Last semester we tried to kind of piece it together, and we didn’t really do a whole lot, so this semester we immediately elected a new board. Basically we wanted to make sure that we had a chance and a voice on campus with the student organizations.”
Fruendt said the term “Global Cascade” comes from the international component of the program and is also a juggling term.
“We picked ‘global’ because, obviously, it’s for study abroad, and then ‘cascade’ because a term for three-ball juggling is a cascade, so we called it ‘Global Cascade,’” Fruendt said.
Fruendt said those wishing to get involved can follow their Facebook page @ocubatapstudents and come to their events.
“You can get involved by following our Facebook page and just showing up to the BA’s events where we always offer a show or food or something,” Fruendt said.
Sierra Paul, theater and performance/education junior, is studying at the University of Roehampton in London this semester. She said the study abroad requirement allows students to see the differences in theater across the world.
“It really allows you to see how they do theater differently in different parts of the world and gives you new perspectives,” Paul said.
Paul also said it can be stressful for students who are unable to afford it.
“Since it is required for our major, it can be really stressful if a student can’t afford to study abroad,” Paul said. “The fundraising really takes away some of that financial burden and allows us to just enjoy our time here.”
Shelby Parker, theater and performance freshman, is the group’s event coordinator. She said the fundraising is important because it exposes students to new experiences and helps their art.
“The BA is focused on new works because we are the next generation of theater,” Parker said. “That involves not just staying in our bubble. We are everywhere, and we want to learn about everything. When you go to another country, you can see how theater is done in other places, and not just theater, but you can experience life somewhere else, and theater is just life on stage. If you’re an educated person and you have a lot of experiences, then you can make good art and tell true stories.”
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