Student Organization Spotlight on the Chatham Drama Club

Just days before their opening performance of Robin Hood, three extra-busy members of Chatham’s Drama Club sat down with us to share a little bit more about what makes this club such a delight to be part of. In our latest student organization spotlight, General Manager, Nora Robb, Managing Director, Jada Weichman, and Social Media Manager, Annamarie Hart give us a primer on what it looks like to be a part of Chatham’s Drama Club. Spoiler alert: it sounds like a really good time!

Can you tell us a little bit about the Chatham Drama Club and what you do on campus?

Students rehearse for their upcoming Robin Hood production

Nora Robb: Our main purpose [as a club] goes hand in hand with Chatham’s drama department (Pulse@ChathamU: Did you know Chatham has a theatre minor?! Learn more about minors @ Chatham here). We help support classes, productions, plays, and musicals. But we also do a lot of fun, theatre-based activities for the community. We might host a workshop that hones your skills. Recently, we did a panel where we invited Black theatre artists from Pittsburgh to come and talk about their experiences in the field.

What do your meetings and rehearsals typically look like?

NR: I run our officer meetings. We don't really have a lot of club-wide meetings since we offer so many activities each month. Rehearsals depend on the director, but typically, they last for three hours and include warm ups, diction exercises, scene run throughs, blocking, and character development. During the fall, we have a drama class. In the beginning, we meet once a week from 6:00 pm-8:30 pm. As it gets closer to the show date, we start doing tech and 10 hour days on the weekends. Next, we do dress calls every night for the the two weeks leading up to the show. Those start at 6:00 pm and go until you're done.

Are you doing a production this fall?

NR: We're doing Robin Hood and we have two shows. This Friday and Saturday at 7:00 pm in Eddy Theatre. We're also streaming on Sunday at 6:00 pm. (You can learn more and book tickets here.)

Annamarie Hart: I'm also really looking forward to our musical next semester—it's called Monster Songs. I did musicals throughout high school, so I think it will be really fun to do one at Chatham.

What other types of events and initiatives do you like to host on campus?

A student in character for Drama Club’s Haunted Hospital in Mellon Center.

NR: We try very hard to make the experiences as diverse as possible. Not everyone comes to Drama Club for the same thing. We try to have a variety of educational panels, field experiences, singing opportunities, and more acting-based things. We provide options for people who don't want to commit to a big show.

AH: None of us are theater minors, but we can go [to our events] and have a good time. You don't even have to be heavily involved; you can just go to have fun.

Tell us a little bit about your individual responsibilities.

NR: I'm the general manager. My job is to organize all the officers and all the club members. I email a lot. I run meeting minutes. It's essentially a secretary position and a vice president position combined—a lot of managerial stuff and leadership.

AH: I manage our social media accounts. I run the Facebook and Instagram page for Drama Club. I promote our events that are coming up and I post pictures from things that have happened so people can see what we do.

Jada Weichman: And I'm the managing director. I handle the financial side of things. When we have events, I usually fill out the Undergraduate Budget Committee (UBC) request for funding and request the space to be saved for our events.

What skills have you honed while participating in this club?

AH: Time management is a big one. You really need it for this. I know I need to coordinate with other people for our social posts so that takes time to figure out.

JW: Collaboration. I was a general manager in my high school's drama club, but I didn't work with that many people because my school was small. [Coming to Chatham,] it was interesting to see how everyone collaborated to make sure that these events happened. There might have been obstacles that we had to reschedule around but we made it out okay.

NR: For me, it has been getting over that fear of sending emails to people. I have a lot of social anxiety. I'm a very disorganized person at heart, [but in this role, I’ve had to] organize people and [myself].

What are the benefits of joining Drama Club?

AH: Since I came in last year, I didn't really know anyone and then I met so many amazing people through Drama Club. I absolutely love them to pieces. During this time with COVID-19, it has been hard to meet people; that was the biggest thing for me. You can do as much or as little as you want. You can be involved in a production or you can go to a workshop. You don't have to do everything; you can just pick and choose.

NR: Our group is so uncompetitive. There isn’t a mean bone in anyone's body and everyone is super positive and uplifting. It's great.

JW: Most first-year students aren’t sure which organization to join. The Chatham Drama Club is very open and welcoming to everyone. We allow students to have creative freedom on campus without having to join a sport or something. It gives them an opportunity to share what they feel and make friends and connections on campus.

If a student is on the fence about joining, how would you recommend they learn more about the club?

AH: They can check out our Instagram. I've had students DM me on the Chatham Drama Club Instagram to ask, Are you doing shows anytime soon? Is there something I can come see? I'll get back to you as soon as I can and you can see pictures of things we've done.

NR: Talking to people, club members and officers, is definitely a huge step. Everyone would be glad to talk about it. And maybe just go to an event. You don't have to immediately go into a play or musical and commit all that time. You can just go to a workshop or panel and see how you like it.

Special thanks to the Drama Club team for giving us a glimpse into their world. Be sure the catch their performances this weekend in Eddy Theatre on Friday and Saturday at 7:00 pm or streaming on Sunday at 6:00 pm. You can also follow their Instagram: @chathamudrama.