This Is Our Youth is the first completely student-run play the Sock ‘n’ Buskin Theatre Company has produced in at least five years, according to artistic director Michelle Blanchard.
It’s great to see a full cast of Carleton students. But this should be the norm, not an anomaly.
As a theatre company founded by Carleton students and a club funded by the Carleton University Students’ Association, Sock ‘n’ Buskin should be pooling more from within the Carleton community. It’s required that Carleton students make up the entire board of directors and at least 50 per cent of the volunteers in each production, but this isn’t enough.
The lead roles in plays and director positions continuously go to those outside the Carleton community. This year, a University of Ottawa theatre student got the lead role in Macbeth, which was directed by a local drama teacher.
Certainly, Sock ‘n’ Buskin has a difficult balance to strike. As a theatre company that also depends on profits to stage plays, Sock ‘n’ Buskin can’t close its doors to the Ottawa community. It needs to host big productions to attract larger audiences, which require actors and expertise that may sometimes be easier to find off campus.
Arguably, more experienced people from outside of Carleton can be role models to students and may be more qualified for these positions and roles. But Carleton isn’t exactly short on talent, either. This Is Our Youth, while smaller than other Sock ‘n’ Buskin productions, shows the skill and devotion of the students who directed, starred and helped put together the production — without any outside help.
Sock ‘n’ Buskin is one of the only outlets for students to express themselves through theatre at Carleton, especially since the school has no theatre program. The company should help students realize and develop their skills through student-run productions, instead of pushing them out of the spotlight.