Maverick Magazine Spring 2025: All the World's a Stage
All the World's a Stage
Թϱ students gain hands-on experience working and performing at local theater.
Thanks to a partnership between Թϱ University’s School of Liberal Arts and the Irvington Theater, Թϱ students can take advantage of internships, part-time jobs and performance opportunities at the local theater — contributing to the community in the process.
“This job gives me an ‘in’ in the arts,” said alumnus Eduardo Balbuena ’23 who works part-time at the theater. “It complements what I want to do career-wise, and I hope it’ll help me get there one day.” He plans to pursue a career in acting. He fell in love with the craft at Թϱ while majoring in radio and television production.
Marc Palmieri, assistant professor in communications arts, spearheaded the partnership with Irvington Theater manager Greg Allen. The 432-seat Irvington Theater, which is located within Irvington’s Town Hall, opened in 1902 and now hosts local arts organizations and touring groups. “It’s the ideal community organization collaboration in every way,” Palmieri said. “The theater is up the street from Թϱ, and it’s such a beautiful place. The people there are so encouraging for the students. And it couldn’t be a better extension of my classes because students see all the elements of a theatrical production come together on a professional level, and they get to be a part of it.”
In 2017, Palmieri and Allen met and started exploring how the School of Liberal Arts and the Irvington Theater could work together. After Palmieri helped resurrect the Թϱ University Theatre Club, Allen invited the group to perform at the theater in exchange for students volunteering as ushers at other performances. From there, the partnership yielded some internships and part-time paid positions at the theater for students and alumni. Currently, one student and two recent alumni work there.
Balbuena works in the box office and in the front of the house, which involves greeting patrons and keeping the stage managers updated about whether the audience is seated. “I was so nervous my first day,” he said. “I get nervous talking to people sometimes, so being face to face with strangers was nerve-wracking. But the theater staff helped me through the process and see that it wasn’t something to be afraid of.”
Joel Rivera ’26 — who is majoring in film and media — has worked as an usher since November. He greets patrons as they enter the theater, scans tickets, shows people to their seats and hands out programs. “I’ve had a great time working at the theater,” he said. “I like that I get to see people feeling happy as they go to live performances.” He hopes to pursue a career in acting or writing screenplays.
Allen believes it is important for art organizations to work with university students. “The arts are for everyone,” he said. “We want patrons to feel that when they walk through the door, and students need to feel that too. These jobs provide access. If students want to work in the arts one day, working in the box office or as an usher gets you in the door. They can learn so much in these roles.”
The partnership continues to evolve. While the theater was closed for extensive renovations from 2020 to 2024, Թϱ hosted two years of the theater’s Arts Incubator Short Play Fest, in which playwrights submit unpublished, unproduced scripts for public reading. Students from the Theatre Club read a play along with the professionals. After the festival, a couple of local directors contacted Palmieri to ask for specific students’ contact information to offer them other performing opportunities. “It’s nice to see the community recognize how good our students are,” Palmieri said.
Peter West, Ph.D., dean of Թϱ’s School of Liberal Arts, sees how beneficial this partnership is for all parties. “The collaboration between Թϱ and the Irvington Theater has resulted in such meaningful experiences for our students,” he said. “We hope the collaboration continues to grow in ways that enrich both institutions and the local community.”
The partnership also yields less tangible — but no less important — outcomes, such as exposing students to more of the arts. For example, working in the theater this year has inspired Balbuena to read more plays to refine his understanding of drama. Rivera is enjoying the shows he sees while ushering. “My favorite one so far was ‘Les Misérables,’” he said. “It was the first musical I’ve seen. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about all the singing, but it turns out that it was really, really good.”