“Something Rotten” coming to USU Eastern Theatre Department

Utah State University’s Eastern Theatre Department is ready for lights, camera and action with several opportunities for students to get involved in stage management, acting, sound design and more. Each year, the department puts together four shows of varying genres.  

Kassidy Childs, a student actor in the department, decided to join the team after her positive experience with theater in high school.  

“I’ve met some of the most amazing people through theater,” Childs wrote in an email to The Utah Statesman. “When you spend every day with a group of people, they really grow on you.”  

Childs said she is excited for “Something Rotten,” a musical that will open on Feb. 29 at the Geary Theatre. The story takes place in London in 1595 and follows two brothers trying to make it in the playwriting world against the famous William Shakespeare.  

The department offers small class sizes to tailor to individual student needs.  

“Smaller classes are good for getting more individual work time,” Childs wrote. “In bigger classes, you can learn from each other and collaborate a lot more.” 

Camden Chamberlain, an actor in “Something Rotten,” has experience in stage lighting and has worked as a stage technician.  

Chamberlain said there are several benefits to joining the department.  

“Just being more involved with the program and getting to become closer with my fellow actors and techies,” Chamberlain wrote in an email to the Statesman. “[It] also gives you something to be looking forward to with all the activities that are planned!”  

Brent Innes, who has his BFA in lighting design and MFA in technical production from USU, is very involved in the department.  

“I literally wear all the hats,” Innes wrote in an email to the Statesman. “I do all things production – Producer, Technical Director, Set Designer, Lighting Designer, Props Designer, Sound Designer, Stage Manager mentor, Build Scenery, mentor tech and design students, recruit new students and the list goes on.” 

Innes said he loves his position teaching the new generation of theatre students and professionals. 

“In the few years I worked out of theatre production doing other various jobs and attempts at a career I would always find myself coming back to theatre,” Innes wrote. “I love the creative collaborative work environment, I love that it is a constantly evolving world, and it is ever shaping our experiences.”  

According to Innes, though a show may have the same lines and music, no two performances are ever identical.  

“Theatre is never doing the same thing the same way,” Innes wrote. “I have done several productions that have been repeats but with different groups in different spaces, and while the music and script may be the same, the show itself is always a different experience.”

According to Innes, students benefit from the smaller class sizes because they get more personalized help and the instructors have more time to work with each student’s existing talent.  

“We do have some bigger broadcast classes that go out statewide as well, such as Introduction to Film and Introduction to Theatre,” Innes wrote.  

According to Innes, the department hosts sleepovers where students bring mattresses and hammocks to spend the night on the tension grid system above the black box theatre.  

“They have regular game nights and other activities where the snacks and laughs are plentiful,” Innes wrote.  

Innes said even students who are not majoring in the arts also enjoy participating in the department and find a home within the theatre. He referenced Pablo Picasso, who once said theatre is the greatest of all art forms because it allows humans to connect with each other. 

“[We] create experiences on stage that mimic what we see in life and express what often cannot be said,” Innes wrote. 

According to Innes, the department has many memories and adventures to last a lifetime, including a trip to Alberta, Canada, where the group performed nine shows over 11 days. They traveled a total of 2,500 miles.  

“The experience created a lifetime of memories for us as a program and as individuals,” Innes wrote. “This is what we do at Eastern Theatre – we create opportunities for incredible experiences.” 

*Cameron Carnes contributed to this article.