For the high school theatre kids who are ready to become equally annoying collegiate theatre kids!

Welcome to your ultimate guide to Barnumbia student theatre! This is full of information that I have acquired over the past two years along with a bit of advice that I wish I had going into my first semester. Theatre at Columbia can be chaotic but hopefully this will help get you started on the right foot!

The Theatre Groups

Columbia University Players (CUP): CUP is a theatre group that produces at least one contemporary straight play each semester. In addition to their MainStage production, CUP is also holding a One-Acts Festival this semester as well as their standard programming which usually includes social play readings, occasional ticket giveaways, and their spring CUP Prom!

Columbia Musical Theatre Society (CMTS): CMTS generally produces two MainStage musicals (one in Roone and one in the GMT, but more on that later) each semester. CMTS is also known for its programming like the 24-hour Musical, Miscast, Students of Color Cabaret, and their Senior Showcase!

King’s Crown Shakespeare Troupe (KCST): KCST produces two pre-modern MainStage shows in the fall (one in the Lerner Black Box and one in the GMT) and one roaming outdoor show in the spring. Additionally, they have a fall Shakespeare Festival, weekly full-troupe Sunday rehearsals, and an annual birthday celebration for Shakespeare.

New and Original Material Authored and Directed by Students (NOMADS): NOMADS produces one student-written MainStage show each semester. They also do a student-written staged reading anthology, WordPlay, in addition to their regular Writer’s Circle meetings and their annual 24-hour student-written show, Hump Day!

Black Theatre Ensemble (BTE): BTE has recently begun producing a semesterly MainStage show. They are also known for their Roundtable discussions with black writers, movie nights, open mic nights, and staged readings!

XMAS!: XMAS! is a student-written secular musical comedy about the winter holidays. They also produce a shorter show (EasterX or ValentinesXO) in the spring.

Latenite: Latenite is a sketch comedy group that puts on their anthology in the Lerner Black Box once a semester. After their traditional anthology, Latenite puts on a final prank show where the actors put on the regular show with improvisational additions.

First Stages: A new theatre group, First Stages produces one student-written musical a semester. They have also begun programming that includes discussions with composers and directors as well as short seminars for people interested in new musicals.

Barnard Columbia Ancient Drama (BCAD): The Classics Department funds the Barnard Columbia Ancient Drama (BCAD) theatre group which produces an ancient Latin or Greek play in its original language every spring. Students of every major are welcome to join! Their performance goes up in the MLP near the end of March or early April. Although a student group, BCAD is not a part of CUPAL and therefore holds auditions separately, so keep that in mind during audition season! 

Don’t feel overwhelmed by the amount of groups! Almost everyone I know in theatre has been involved with plenty of different groups at different points in time. Look at which shows the groups are producing, see what interests you, and go from there!

CUPAL

CUPAL or, the Columbia University Performing Arts League, is an organization that consolidates and helps organize all campus performing arts groups. This includes a capella, dance groups, and of course, theatre groups! They also organize a lot of the whole theatre world events like Color Fest, the CUPAL Gala, and Actor Share, but more on that later.

Additionally, CUPAL hosts a MainStage production every semester. Plays, dance performances, musicals, and other non-traditional or mixed performance pieces are all options for the CUPAL Special Project!

Important note! CUPAL is pronounced like “see you, pal” not “cup all.” I just saved you from a signature first-year moment.

The Department

I’m not going to go too into detail about the theatre major and minor, but there are a few things you should know!

1. You absolutely do not need to study theatre to be involved. Most of the people in student theatre are not majors or minors at all! However, if that is something you’re interested in, look into the course registry!
2. The Department show auditions are separate from the CUPAL auditions and their rehearsal schedule is known to be very demanding in the first half of the semester.
3. The Department show is also a great way to academically get involved with aspects of theatre outside of acting!

But seriously, consult actual theatre majors and your advisor if you are considering a theatre major or minor! I am not liable for the academic repercussions of this article.

The Theaters

Generally, there are only a few theaters that an undergraduate show will go up in. I’ve included their official names, but their more common names are in parentheses.

The Glicker-Milstein Theatre (the GMT): Found in LL2 of Barnard’s Diana Center, the GMT is a black box theatre that hosts most student groups’ MainStage productions! Once it hits mid-October, there will pretty much be something happening in the GMT until the end of the semester.

The Minor Latham Playhouse (the MLP): Found in Barnard Hall, the MLP is a much more traditional 132-seat proscenium theatre. Generally, the Department shows go up in the MLP with very few student groups producing their shows for this theatre.

The Austin E. Quigley Black Box Theatre (the Lerner Black Box): Found on the fifth floor of Lerner, the Lerner Black Box hosts a few MainStage productions, some of which include one of KCST’s fall shows, Latenite’s anthologies, and The Varsity Show’s Turkey Tech.

The Lerner Roone Arledge Auditorium (Roone): The largest of all the theatres, Roone puts up one of CMTS’ MainStage shows, and of course, the Varsity Show. Roone’s seating is temporary and often hosts banquets and events in addition to traditional productions.

Fun fact: The Fantasticks premiered in a one-acts festival in the MLP!

Creative Teams

Each MainStage show has a Creative Team, or C-Team, that leads and organizes the production. While each C-Team is different, they usually consist of at least a Director, Stage Manager, and Producer. Musicals will also have a Choreographer and a Music Director. However, depending on the show and the unique demands of the production, a C-Team may also include roles such as a Dramaturg, Technical Director, Wellness Captain, Cultural Coordinator, etc depending on the needs of the show.

Generally, the C-Team leads auditions and are in charge of deciding the final cast list. The C-Team is also generally decided on before the start of the semester, especially the leading positions of Director, Stage Manager, and Producer.

However, almost every C-Team has an assistant C-Team that usually consists of younger or less experienced students who want to get their start in Columbia theatre roles outside of acting. So if you know that a C-Team position is something that you want to be a part of, you should definitely consider interviewing for the assistant position!

Production Teams

Production Teams, or P-Teams, consist of all other roles outside of the cast that are necessary to put on a show. These usually consist of a Set Designer, Props Designer, Lighting Designer, Sound Designer, Makeup Designer, Costume Designer, Build Crew, and Run Crew. Depending on the show, there can be way more or fewer P-Team members.

The Production Team also has an assistant P-Team if you want to try something new or if you want to get more experience before trying to be a lead designer!

Auditioning and Interviewing

Auditions are hosted through CUPAL, where every show that is hosting auditions can keep track of and organize their auditions from one master sheet. To sign up, be sure to follow CUPAL so that you can access the master sheet when it drops to get the time slots that work best with your schedule!

Once you have signed up for a time slot for however many shows you hope to audition or interview for, there is a Google Form at the start of the master sheet for both interviewing and auditioning. It’ll usually ask you about your experience and what positions you’re interested in. Fill them out, and wait for your audition or interview date and time!

It’s smart to get to the holding room (which you’ll be able to see on the sheet, it’s usually in Hamilton) about half an hour before your first audition or interview. Once you get to the room, you’ll sign in with the CUPAL volunteer so they know you’ve arrived and then you’ll get a chance to look at the sides for each show.

Then, you wait to be called for your first audition or interview! Each show’s C-Team will be waiting in their room for you to get there. There will be any number from 3-8+ people in the audition room watching your audition or asking you interview questions, it just depends on the size and scale of the production and C-Team.

After the regular auditions, you may be invited for a callback! You may be asked to prepare a certain side or selection of music for this, but the details vary depending on the show.

I personally recommend that actors interview for assistant C-Team or P-Team positions even if you plan on auditioning to get as much experience as possible or to make sure that you’ll be involved with theatre your first semester if that’s something you’re sure you want to do! At Columbia, almost everyone involved in theatre does a bit of everything, and I think that being more aware and experienced in the production process, improves your skills as an actor!

Actor Share

Actor Share is the process that each of the C-Teams goes through at the end of the audition week. Essentially, every C-Team heads to one room and they decide which shows want which actors for each role.

Once they have decided, they call the actor, and the actor has 5 minutes to decide if they accept the role that has been offered to them.

If multiple shows want an actor and the respective C-Teams have decided that they would be willing to share the actor, the actor may receive multiple role offers. It is the actor’s decision whether they would like to accept multiple roles, one, or none.

Color Fest

CUPAL hosts Color Fest each fall with different theatre, a cappella, and dance groups competing against each other in field day activities. It’s generally just a whole bunch of theatre kids who are usually semi-drunk playing limbo contests and tug of war.

CUPAL Gala

Also known as Theatre Kid Prom, the CUPAL Gala is a formal-ish event hosted by CUPAL every spring, showcasing select performances from theatre, dance, and a cappella groups. It’s mostly just an excuse to eat good food, dress up, and take a billion pictures with your friends.

The CUPAL Gala is also a great advertisement for the different groups so that everyone knows which shows are the must-sees of the season!

Special Mentions

These groups are theatre-adjacent ways to get involved with different aspects of theatre in a new environment!

The Columbia University Ballet Ensemble (CUBE): The Columbia University Ballet Ensemble occasionally incorporates actors into their performance and has in the past auditioned actors during CUPAL’s Audition Week! Plus they often need P-Team members to help out, so keep an eye out for their production!

The Columbia University Sketch Show (CUSS): The Columbia University Sketch Show uses actors, scriptwriters, and directors to create their online sketches. With both recurring segments and one-off videos, CUSS has plenty of opportunities. They also offer auditions during CUPAL’s Audition Week!

A cappella: Columbia has so many different a cappella groups that they probably need their own article, but I figured that there is plenty of theatre and a cappella crossover in interest, so they deserved a shout-out. If you want to audition for a cappella, just know that they audition before CUPAL’s Audition Week, so keep an eye out for posters and individual groups’ Instagram accounts to be sure you catch their audition sign-ups!

The Elif Collective: A non-affiliated theater company co-founded by a Columbia student. Lots of Columbia students end up getting involved in some capacity!

Improv: Like a cappella, there are so many different improv groups to join, each with their own audition schedules. Check out each group (Third Wheel Improv, Fruit Paunch) for information on how to get involved and to see when they perform!

Executive Boards

Each theatre group has an Executive Board (or E-Board) that governs the club as a whole. The E-Board usually organizes community events, social get-togethers, and general programming. Most importantly, the E-Board usually helps decide on the show and C-Team for each MainStage production.

While each E-Board is different, they always include a President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary, while often adding other roles like Historian, Publicity Chair, Outreach Manager, DEI Chair, and many more as the board sees fit to include.

You don’t have to be on an E-Board to be a part of the show or to join their programming, but it is a fun way to get leadership experience, form community, and get more involved in how clubs run outside of the MainStage production.

All E-Boards are different when it comes to board applications. So keep an eye out for which groups are opening applications and when!

Many E-Boards accept and welcome first-year applicants to their boards, so don’t hesitate to apply if you’re interested!

The Varsity Show

Oh, The Varsity Show. Easily the most attended show of the year, The Varsity Show is a full-length, musical comedy about life at Columbia. With a giant budget and many celebrity alumni, The Varsity Show is truly on another level.

If you’re interested in getting involved with this year’s Varsity Show, you should be aware that their auditions are held separately from the CUPAL auditions. Their Creative Team applications drop around late October with auditions usually in late November or early December. But if you want to be a lead designer or a member of the assistant C-Team or P-Team, those applications usually drop over Winter Break with the interviews occurring at the start of the spring semester.

You can watch a whole bunch of past Varsity Shows on YouTube. Catch last year’s Varsity Show here!

An important thing to consider if you want to audition is that Varsity Cast members are unable to be a part of other shows in the spring semester due to their demanding rehearsal schedule!

Instagram

If you want to hear about the different shows, events, and opportunities these groups will have in store in the fall, you absolutely must be following them on Instagram! I’ve very conveniently linked them all here for your perusal.

CUP, CMTS, KCST, NOMADS, BTE, XMAS!, Latenite, First Stages, BCAD, CUPAL, The Varsity Show, etc.

Conclusion

I really hope that this info dump didn’t scare you away! Theatre at Columbia can be a lot, but I’ve made so many friends and so much beautiful art here. As with all things at college, student theatre is what you make of it. Work hard, be respectful, take some risks, and I promise that Columbia theatre will be just as special to you as it is to me.

Update made at 10:56 am on Monday, August 19:

Added Barnard Columbia Ancient Drama (BCAD) as a theatre group.

Cover Image via Wikimedia