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Officials at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) announced today that it will restructure its theatre program in order to better align with student needs. NEO administration explained the shift is more toward music theatre in response to a growing interest from students. “In recent years, students expressed a growing interest in music theatre. To meet student requests, we added an option for students to pursue a degree in music theatre in 2012,” said Dr. Bethene Fahnestock, vice president of academic affairs. “The restructuring of the theatre program will allow NEO to respond to the growing student demand for a degree in music theatre.”
As part of the reorganization plan, NEO will utilize Commons Hall more often. The college is installing $7,000 worth of new lighting to improve the venue and make it more conducive to performances. “By providing a greater emphasis in musical theatre, we will be offering more opportunities for our performance majors. Besides our traditional musicals, we will be able to give better production values for concerts, show choir, touring groups and dinner musical theatre,” said Steve McCurley, department chair of communications and fine arts. “We look forward to the future and all its amazing possibilities.”
NEO will still honor the scholarships of current theatre students for the 2014-2015 school year. Students currently enrolled in the traditional theatre program will be able to complete their degrees. NEO will continue to offer a music theatre option and provide opportunities for students to perform in music theatre productions.
