GENTRY: And now Great Arts at Eastern, from the Portales campus of Eastern New Mexico University. I’m Jeff Gentry, Dean of the College of Fine Arts here on KENW, Your Public Radio Network. Today my guest is Samantha Bartl, who is a Film Major in the Eastern Department of Theatre and Digital Filmmaking. Thank you for joining me today.
BARTL: Thank you for having me.
GENTRY: Well, it’s great. Like many students, we- you study filmmaking but also take courses in theater-. and a lot of your classmates do this too. Why are theater and film a good combination for students?
BARTL: We work so closely together in both of our industries that it makes sense that we get a well-rounded experience in both of those opportunities. And it allows us to make connections outside of our own classes in our own department and our own fields. And it’s a wonderful opportunity; I really love how our department is situated.
GENTRY: Right, and that- that combination being in the same department isn’t unique, but it’s a little bit unusual, and it gives you that advantage. I joke with some of my Dean colleagues elsewhere that the acting is actually good in our student films. A lot of film programs, they’re completely divorced from the theater. And so they have to just pull people off the street to try to do the acting.
BARTL: Right, right. We’re very lucky to have a lot of very talented actors that are willing to work with the film program.
GENTRY: Great, Well, this may be news to some of our listeners, but the College of Fine Arts is back to live performances this semester with your play Blithe Spirit opening next week. Quickly followed by a clarinet recital, film screening, art shows, and more. Are you ready for a return to live theater?
BARTL: I am so ready. We’ve been ready for about a year. We’re ready to get on stage and show the community what we’ve been working on.
GENTRY: Great and you know, last year-. last year and a half, your program with Anne Beck and Ricky Quintana and your new tech director, Josh Blackwood. You put on virtual shows that were really good and a lot of effort. But now we’re actually on the stage at the University Theater Center Mainstage.
BARTL: Yes, we are, and I’m so looking forward to it.
GENTRY: Great, now. Blythe Spirit is a hilarious comedy by Noël Coward. Who is Ruth Condomine?
BARTL: Ruth Condomine is Charles Condomine’s second wife. Charles Condomine is, I guess, the main character of the show, and he’s a novelist, and I am his very-, Ruth is very- Stuck up. Very prim and proper.
GENTRY: Well, a little bit on the upper-class side, right?
BARTL: Yes, yes.
GENTRY: And so, you could call this a comedy of manners, but it’s so modern. Right and written during World War Two and- and this play originally in London was a way for folks to forget about the war ’cause it has nothing to do with war, right?
BARTL: Right?
GENTRY: Well, that’s exciting. So, do you enjoy being part of a comedy ensemble with your costars?
BARTL: Yes, I love comedy, and I think especially being on stage now. Comedy works very well whenever you’re in person, and you can easily bounce off of each other.
GENTRY: That’s fantastic, and so, for example, your costars include Liam Hurley and Israel Stacy, and so these are folks that are cast for comedy, right?
BARTL: Yes, definitely.
GENTRY: Fantastic. So, the rest of the theater season also looks rich, and so later, you’re going to have. Gruesome Playground Injuries directed by Ricky Quintana, and then next semester, two more shows, including a musical. So are you. I know that you’ve worked a lot behind the scenes in our plays and now increasingly on stage. So are you looking forward to the next plays?
BARTL: Yes, I am, and our musical is going to be Little Women. And I think- think that will be just amazing and it’s in conjunction with the music department. So, it is wonderful to have it-. have all these shows coming up.
GENTRY: Great. Well, thank you, Sam Bartl, for joining me today. Blithe Spirit opens a week from today, on September 30th, with three nights of performances at 7:00 PM. Then a Sunday matinee on October 3rd at 2:00 PM. Tickets for the general public are $10. ENMU students, free. Senior Citizens and Armed Forces Personnel $7.00. Our listeners can find all the Great Arts at Eastern at:enmu.edu/FineArtsEvents. Thank you, Sam Bartl.
BARTL: Thank you so much.
GENTRY: And thank you to our listeners for listening here on KENW, Your Public Radio Network.