The Nineteen Nineties
The past fifteen years have brought seismic changes to the University of Minnesota and to higher education in general. Diverting funding resources from public education to social needs (prisons and elderly care) have left many of us in a state of freefall regarding what we value based on our long-standing traditions. Students, who in what should be their halcyon years of experimentation and self-discovery, are now scrambling to find ways to make ends meet. Universities, especially public research institutions, now are modeled on a business operational structure and we all struggle to meet diverse and, sometimes, competing expectations. The Department of Theatre Arts and Dance has gone through many transformations during the period 1990 to 2005 and yet we have been able to keep our zest for learning while exploring our art. We have done this by balancing the fiscal tensions with extraordinary learning opportunities in our classrooms and laboratories for our students, faculty, and audiences.
The old adage “when one door closes another one opens” is an apt description of this critical period. Due to fiscal issues, the resources to support the long-standing and distinguished MFA in Acting program came to an end. With the appointment of Joe Dowling as Artistic Director of the Guthrie, a new agreement and direction were forged and the Guthrie/University of Minnesota BFA in Acting training program emerged in 1999. While there have been some minor adjustments in curriculum, the integrity of the program, with the combined energies of both institutions, has borne phenomenal results.
For our prestigious dance program, the most significant change has been the building of a state-of-the-art facility named after our valued colleague and visionary, Barbara Barker. Student dancers have finally been liberated from the musty smells and dangerous floors of the antiquated Norris Gym and the new building has energized both the transformative artistry of new faculty while supporting the emerging agenda of the new West Bank Arts Quarter—a location of intersection and collaboration for the arts and performance.
With the retirement of some of our most distinguished faculty—Professors Adey, Balk, Congdon, Josal, and Gadberry—it appeared that the academic and scholarly component of our department might be in jeopardy. But new faculty member, Professor Michal Kobialka joined us in 1988, and his energy and vision helped transform the MA/PhD program into one of national distinction.
The Minnesota Centennial Showboat has been a landmark of the University and our department for almost 50 years. As a result of the 1990 American with Disabilities Act, the Showboat’s future was put in jeopardy because of issues of facility access made more difficult by the age and neglect of the Boat. We limped along until 1993 when we finally did our last performance on the General John Newton moored on the east bank of the Mississippi. We moved into Rarig for one year and then spent two years in a tent, first on Raspberry and then Harriet Island while a group of faculty and alums worked to keep this unique tradition alive and began an aggressive campaign to raise the money to renovate the Boat.
Although everyone was incredibly generous, we were thwarted by a lucrative building climate that always put our dreams just slightly out of reach. Finally in 1999, the money matched the project’s demand and renovation began. In anticipation of a July 4, 2000, opening, alums Mike Harvey, Dahl Delu, and Vern Sutton completed auditions in mid-January—after such a long struggle, it finally seemed that all of the stars had lined up. That euphoric feeling was short-lived as the following week the old Showboat burned to the hull as the result of a construction accident. For many, this was such a tragic loss that going forward just didn’t seem possible; however, through the urging of those alums that felt the experience had been defining in their career choices, we started to look for alternatives, realizing that the Showboat was an experience and not necessarily a venue.
After many attempts and schemes to solve this thorny problem (including a foray into casino boat websites), a partnership was 
forged with the Padelford Packet Boat Company which has served the public with excursion boats sailing from St. Paul for the past three decades. The new Minnesota Centennial Showboat was designed and built to our needs in Greenville, MS, with the assistance of many of the architects and engineers from the original Newton renovation sticking with us. Padelford personnel were instrumental in the solution to several of the engineering problems that arose in creating the new version of the floating theatre we created in 1958. A silk lining to the tragic loss of the “old showboat” was that now without the structural constraints imposed by the Newton we were able to provide commodious social, performance, and support spaces—all decorated and completed by the combined energy of faculty, students, and alumni. On July 4, 2002, we celebrated the gala opening of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde created by the original artistic team and 90% of the originally cast students. And in the old Showboat tradition, the new Minnesota Centennial Showboat—named appropriately for Frank M Whiting--was an instant hit with audiences, providing a stunning presence on the Mississippi in special docking facilities built for it by the city of Saint Paul. Now permanently docked at Harriet Island, it is a jewel in the renovation of the riverfront with a marvelous view from the deck of the city and all the celebratory fireworks.
So, what is ahead for the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance? Our long-standing tradition and history have served us well, but we are mindful that the very definition of our art of theatre and dance performance will rightfully always be in as state of change and flux. Our future lies in our ability to balance our history with the need to look forward as we feed the overwhelming urge to place the live performance within the changing trends and context of a fluid society. Now for the next 25 years….! [CLB]
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