The Shadow Collective, a student theater organization, has selected a new director.
The Shadow Collective, which is aimed at producing student-written shows, has selected Lauren Leppke, theater and performance junior, as the new co-director of the organization.
Leppke said she has been involved with The Shadow Collective since her freshman year.
“My first semester, I was part of the 24-hour play festival,” Leppke said. “That really introduced me into just writing, creating, making something without holding back. You can make anything, and people will come and listen, and whether it’s something impactful or not, sometimes you just want to entertain people.”
Leppke said she and Olivia Allen, theater and performance junior, split their leadership position. Leppke said the two directors share the same responsibilities but bring slightly different approaches to the role.
“I think the biggest thing which I personally really enjoy is the different perspectives that we both have. Because, while we align pretty well on some of the topics, there’s some things that we discuss differently,” Leppke said. “It’s good to be able to have those different perspectives.”
Leppke said one of the first initiatives she and Allen implemented was the creation of a committee to the leadership of the organization.
“We’re adding a small committee this semester. We’re going to try and get as many voices into the room as possible so we can get more perspectives and make it more inclusive,” Leppke said. “What Olivia and I really love about The Shadow Collective is that it’s so adaptable. So, we’ll have chairs and heads of things, but the biggest thing we want is for this group to be able to work incredibly well with one another and have everyone’s voices heard.”
Leppke said The Shadow Collective has already selected their season this semester, but in the future, the committee will play a large role in the selection process.
“We’re starting with our Playwright’s Festival, which is happening the first 3 weekends of October. We’re going to be showcasing the playwrights that didn’t get to do their shows last semester. Those are all going to be staged readings over Zoom,” Leppke said. “We’re really excited about that, but for the upcoming selection process, the committee will play a part in it.”
Leppke said the committee has already been formed for this semester, but the organization will be looking towards expanding and adding roles in the coming months.
Olivia de Haan, theater and performance sophomore, is a member of the newly-formed committee. She said she is excited for the new direction Leppke and Allen are taking the organization.
“Even though everything hasn’t been announced yet, the things that Lauren and Olivia have planned are really exciting and I think are moving The Shadow Collective in the right direction to its full potential, because I think they could do some really cool things with it,” de Haan said. “I’ve been rebranding all the social media to have a bigger presence and get the word out to students, so that everybody knows what The Shadow Collective is and what we do.”
Leppke said they have already started to reach out to other student organizations with the hopes of expanding the scope of The Shadow Collective.
“Olivia and I are creating new ideas to hopefully bring in the film department and to bring in just more collaboration with other organizations. We think it’s really important to not just stay by ourselves. We want as many people on campus to create as possible,” Leppke said. “I think the biggest thing sometimes is that people are scared to just start. We’re hoping to open up things and avenues for people to start creating something.” Leppke said The Shadow Collective will begin their season Sept. 25-26 with the “Tokach 24-Hour Play Festival.” She said students can follow The Shadow Collective on their Facebook and Instagram.
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