When you think of Penn State, I don’t know if the arts immediately pop into your head. Coming from a strong theatre background in high school, I was looking for a similar community here, though I didn’t think I would be able to find it.

The first week of school, I saw a poster for “Catch Me If You Can” auditions with the Penn State Thespians. I was a little intimidated to audition, and they were the first week of school, so I ignored it and figured maybe college theatre wasn’t for me.

In my Econ 102 class, I was sitting next to a girl and we introduced ourselves. She told me that she was into theatre and I said I was too. We decided to go to the Thespian general interest meeting together. I learned that I didn’t have to perform in the shows to get involved. I started going to the costume shop to help make costumes. Now, two and a half years later, I am the head costume designer for “Beauty and the Beast.” I’ve also performed in a bunch of plays for children, and am singing in a performance fundraiser for AIDS research.

I also learned about a club called No Refund Theatre. This club mainly does plays instead of musicals, but there is a performance every week. So, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved and perform. My freshman year I got to play Stella in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and Emily in “Our Town.” I didn’t think that I would be able to find a theatre community as a non-theatre major, but I was pleasantly surprised.

In addition to these clubs, there are other theatrical opportunities on campus. There is an improv group, spoken word group (WORDS), and dozens of dance troupes. I’m a member of the Performing Arts Council (PAC) and if you check out their website, found here, you can see a list of many of the performance groups on campus, including a Capella.

If you don’t want to get involved with a club, you don’t need to. There are tons of performances to go see, either from one of the clubs, the School of Theatre, or a touring show through the Center for the Performing Arts.

I was surprised by all of the arts opportunities offered on campus, but it’s what the core of my Penn State experience has been about.