OCU is now an official member of the World Theatre Education Alliance.
The WTEA, based out of The Central Academy of Drama in China, is comprised of 15 theater schools from 13 different countries.
The OCU School of Theatre is WTEA’s most recent addition and will send students to their International Theatre Festival every other year.
Lance Marsh, professor of acting and head of performance, said OCU is the first and only WTEA member from the Western Hemisphere.
“Until this year, we had no affiliation whatsoever with WTEA,” Marsh said. “Because of the strong connections that had been made by Dean Mark Parker, we were able to invite the president of The Central Academy of Drama here for a meeting, and after seeing our campus and students in action, he invited us to the WTEA festival in Beijing. We were the first American school to have ever been invited.”
Marsh said the eight acting seniors who attended the October conference were the hit of the program in terms of their acting abilities and willingness to learn from international instructors and experts.
“I couldn’t have asked for a greater bunch,” Marsh said. “When the dean asked me to put the group together, he asked for the most talented, adaptable students possible, and we definitely achieved that. No one could have better represented our school.”
Blake Sauceda, acting senior who attended the conference, said students found out the partnership had been finalized during the festival itself.
“We knew, of course, that we had been asked to attend the conference as a school, but we didn’t know what would happen after that,” Sauceda said. “There was always the possibility of it being a one-time thing. When we were officially asked to become members of the WTEA, we realized we weren’t going to be the only ones from OCU to experience this. It’s going to continue, and that is incredibly exciting.”
Laura Kariuki, acting senior who attended the conference, said the alliance is important for the School of Theatre’s future.
“It gets us out of our bubble,” Kariuki said. “One of the great things about the School of Theatre is that they always encourage us to broaden our horizons, and conferences like these will pop the bubble that we find ourselves comfortable in. Not just in regard to OCU, but to America as a whole.”
Marsh said the partnership would never have been possible without Parker’s dedication to strengthening OCU’s relationship with China.
“I think he should be given full props for all the work he’s done to make partnerships like these possible,” Marsh said. “He’s done an incredible job.”
Sauceda said he is excited for future students who attend the conference.
“We’re incredibly proud of the work we did, and we’re excited to see where this alliance goes,” Sauceda said. “I’m proud that we were the first ones to experience this, but I’m also thrilled that more students down the line will now be able to be a part of it as well.”
Leave a Reply