Tackling "Tartuffe"

Author: Malcolm McDowell Woods

Published Date: 5/28/2019

Categories: F1RST Magazine F1RST Summer 2019 Students Theatre Arts


Photo Essay by Kyle Zehr

Setting the Stage 

This spring in Otteson Theatre, the Carroll Players staged “Tartuffe,” a 350-year-old comedy written by Molière. A bright and colorful period piece, “Tartuffe” still resonates with modern audiences and played to full houses on campus.

The Players, the brainchild of then-professor May Rankin, first hit the stage in 1896. The dramatic arts have continued to play a central role in the university’s cultural life since then, and the Players mount several productions annually. The Players are open to all Carroll students, reflecting the school’s rich commitment to the arts and the belief that the arts benefit everyone. 

Of course, by the time the curtain rises on any production, countless hours have been spent behind the scenes, as students built sets, fashioned costumes, applied makeup and wigs, rehearsed music and arranged lighting for the production. Much of the work was done by students in classes in Carroll’s Theatre Arts and Management program. Photographer Kyle Zehr spent some time in the weeks leading up to the opening capturing some of those preparations.

student actors performing a dress rehearsal of
students working behind the scenes of a production of
male student building a set for
A behind the scenes look at
students preparing a set for
Video Ratio size 16 by 9 Carroll University Video

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