What is First Year Lab at Salem State University Theatre Department?

Every year, incoming freshmen and transfer students participate in First Year Lab. This experience is designed to help facilitate their transition into Salem State Theatre. First Year students will become acquainted with their fellow students, members of the faculty and staff, our methods and production procedures, and – most importantly– they will immediately become part of a creative ensemble.

Together with their classmates, and directed by a faculty member, they will create a unique production based on their group’s ideas, talents, and experiences. The First Year Lab Experience is designed not just for actors, but for aspiring playwrights, directors, stage managers, technicians, and designers. First Year Lab students will have rehearsals during the first four weeks of fall classes, culminating in a public performance the last Friday of September.

Salem State University Theatre Department Handbook

It was a pleasure to direct First Year Lab in 2022. I mentored (directed) the first year students through a devised theatre process. In three weeks of rehearsals 18 students worked together to brainstorm, write, cast, rehearse, design, and produce their own unique show which they titled “Homecoming.”