CARBONDALE, Ill. (May 17, 2016) - Several students enrolled in Rend Lake College's Theatre program visited and toured Southern Illinois University (SIU) Carbondale's campus earlier this month to see what the local, four-year institution offered.
During the visit, students toured campus and had a backstage tour of the McLeod and Christian H. Moe Lab theatres. They also joined in on a pre-show workshop, hosted by SIU Theatre Instructor Tom Kidd, and watched SIU's matinee performance of the classical comedy, "Tartuffe."
"We did all this for free and it was a resounding success for all," said Tracey Webb, RLC Theatre Professor. "A few of my students were so impressed, they decided there, on the spot, that SIU is where they wanted to transfer to. My students were thrilled to get to see a high-quality stage production at SIU and it was worth spending out Sunday on the beautiful campus to help build bridges for the transfer proces to go smoothly for our students."
The trip was planned by Reece Rutland, SIU Carbondale Service Center Coordinator, who also waived application fees for the students to apply to SIU Carbondale.
"SIU was extremely generous allowing us to see their stage production and dine on their campus," added Webb. "Reece was great to get it all arranged and they are considering doing this as an annual thing for our theatre students."
Click on the images below for larger views.
RLC students are pictured touring SIU Carbondale's Scene Shop. They are, FROM LEFT, Tyler Bourland (Ina), Lauryn Strom (Sesser), Allysa Fox (Thompsonville), Shelby Patterson (Waltonville), Aidan Ezell (Mt. Vernon), SIU Theatre instructor Tom Kidd (in back), Elysia Piercy (Centralia), and Vincent Bailey (Woodlawn).
During lunch, several students paused for a photo, including, FROM LEFT, Patrick Burke (Mt. Vernon), Shelly Capps (Benton), Vincent Bailey (Woodlawn), Allysa Fox (Thomsponville), Aidan Ezell (Mt. Vernon), Deborah Loucks (Sesser), and Ivan Wysong (Thompsonville).
Striking a pose, four RLC theatre students brushed up on their skills during lunch. They are, FROM LEFT, Jonathan Dauby (Soringerton), Lauryn Strom (Sesser), Tyler Bourland (Ina), and Bethaney Brown (Mt. Vernon).
