Colorado Mountain College eNews

New associate degree emphasizes time on stage; CU transfer agreement pending

Actors in CMC Theatre's recent production of "Pride and Prejudice" perform at CMC's Spring Valley Center. Photo by Scot Gerdes.

By Mike McKibbin

Starting next spring, “Lights, camera, action!” will ring out more often at Colorado Mountain College’s New Space Theatre at the Spring Valley Center near Glenwood Springs.

For the first time, the community college will offer an associate of arts degree with a theater emphasis, where thespians can spend more time on stage to help them land entry-level jobs or easily transfer to a four-year program.

Gary Ketzenbarger, associate professor of theater and speech at Spring Valley, helped put the program together. He said the new emphasis would be “crucially important with (student) recruitment and retention.”

An articulation agreement with the University of Colorado-Boulder’s theater department is under consideration, and Ketzenbarger said it would guarantee graduates of CMC’s theater program will meet the requirements to major in the same area at his alma mater.

“A lot of the four-year theater programs are all over the map in terms of requirements,” he added. “CU’s are much closer to our own. So this articulation agreement will really create a pipeline into the CU program, where CMC students can finish their junior and senior years.”

Dr. Deborah “Sunny” Schmitt, assistant vice president for academic affairs, arts and sciences at Colorado Mountain College, said the new degree program has taken many months to develop.

“It’s a lot more prescriptive program than some of our other associate programs, but we want our students to take all the theater classes they can so they can transfer to CU” if they wish, she said.

A key benefit to students will be “spending a lot more time on stage” at Spring Valley, compared to four-year programs, Schmitt said.

The program will have a strong emphasis on theater appreciation. Each theater production class requires 60 hours of participation in set construction, scenic artistry, costuming, lighting, sound and stage managing for CMC Theatre performances.

Degree can qualify grads for jobs in theater

With an associate of arts degree with a theater emphasis, graduates can expect to qualify for jobs such as lighting and sound technicians, stage managers or actors. They might also direct a community-based play.

Ketzenbarger said there is currently a great demand for stagehands and other backstage occupations along the state’s Front Range, and he hopes to see a CMC vocational program to help train those workers in the near future.

The increase of independent and foreign films, plus the advent of Web-based movies, could increase employment opportunities for actors, producers and directors. Jobs in those professions may grow by 11 percent from 2006 to 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While other community colleges offer associate degrees in theater, “most of them certainly aren’t as focused or comprehensive” as Colorado Mountain College, Ketzenbarger said.

The new emphasis should also help promote the Spring Valley theater program to the Glenwood Springs, Carbondale and Aspen communities, he said.

“Hopefully, we’ll get even more people come up to see our shows,” Ketzenbarger added.

This fall, approximately 30 students are taking theater classes at Spring Valley, he said. With the new emphasis next spring, he hopes to have around 50 students. That should make more shows, along with original student plays, possible.

“I’d like to see three or four main stage shows each season and one or two student shows,” Ketzenbarger said. “I’m really excited that it’s moving forward.”