Horizons Fall 2015

21 NSU HORIZONS Nova Southeastern University’s theatre program was barely a few weeks old in October 2005 when the faculty had to decide whether “the show must go on.” Hurricane Wilma had ravaged South Florida and the chaotic aftermath threatened to close the very first stage production, The Burial at Thebes . “So the question was, ‘Are we going to open the show with one tech- nical rehearsal?’ ” recalled Mark Duncan, M.F.A., associate professor and interim chair of the Program of Performing and Visual Arts, NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. “And the answer was, ‘Yes. We’re not going to let that storm stop us.’ ” Challenges followed as NSU created a department from scratch during the next decade, but “after that, it’s all been easy,” said Duncan, with a smile. As the program celebrates its 10th anniversary, faculty members, stu- dents, and alumni reflected about the hard-won growth of a program to change the lives of students in more ways than observers assume. Certainly, alumni have acquired the skills to succeed in the profession. But it also has benefited students seeking self-confidence and other abilities that enhance careers with no direct connection to the arts. Lauren Butler, B.A., 2010, remembers the fledgling program in 2006 when she was still a psychology major in the College of Psychology—but pursuing her love of theater in which she eventually earned her degree. NSU’s theatre raises the curtain on its first decade