Story By: Ryan McGarty

COVID-19 changed the ways a lot of the departments on campus at the University of Montevallo were run. However, one of the departments that had to change the most was the Department of Theatre.

In the late spring, the theater industry was shut down. The Department of Theatre struggled to find a way that they could still have class while being safe.

“There were a lot of talks over the summer about how to engage theater production and theater training” says chair of the Department David Callaghan.

The department found their answer in their new building, The Center for the Arts. The building has classrooms for theater, music, art, dance and more. And the classrooms are large enough that they can have in person classes and still socially distant. The Center for the Arts also has a theater, an art gallery and several large practice rooms for music students.

Callaghan says that his department being able to have in person classes, as a lot to do with the size of the classrooms. “A lot of the classrooms at Montevallo are on the smaller side and had to go hybrid. While we had to do that for some of our classes, We’ve been able to have the majority of our acting classes and our one directing class in person as well as our dance classes”

Despite the advantages of the new building, the Department of Theater has still cancelled all of their fall shows which Callaghan says most schools have done. However, they do plan to attempt two shows in a new format in the spring. They believe that by using this format, they can safely do shows next semester.

You can find more information about the Department of Theater and see more pictures of the Center for the Arts here