Broadway Night Showcases Two Nights of Cabaret by Dramatic Activities Club
Pennsylvania Western University Edinboro Campus has a variety of activities on campus for all kinds of student. For the art majors, there is the Bates Gallery Student Shows and David Weinkauf Student Film Festival. For psychology and art therapy majors, there are events such as the Creative Journaling and Art to Express virtual art studios. And for those on Edinboro’s campus that enjoy theater, there is the Dramatic Activities Club’s Broadway Night.
On Dec. 6th and 7th at 7:00 p.m., the Diebold Center for Performing Arts will open its doors to students and the public for its annual Broadway Night, produced by Edinboro’s Dramatic Activities Club. Students will perform songs from various Broadway, West-end, or Off-Broadway shows together over the course of two nights. Anyone is welcome to audition for a spot in the show. The doors will open at 7:00 p.m. and the show will start at 7:30 p.m. on both nights. The show will last about three hours, ending around 10:30 p.m. both nights. Students’ admission will be $5 per person, and general admission will be $10 per person.
The Dramatic Activities Clubs is one of the three clubs that make up Edinboro’s Theater. The Dramatic Activities Club plans and produces all the musical theater events on campus, including Broadway Night in the fall semester and a musical in the spring semester. Any Edinboro student is welcome to join the club, especially if they have an interest in musicals or performing in musicals.
William Hunter is the faculty advisor for three theater organizations on campus and has been for the past five years after the retirement of the last theater faculty member. Hunter holds directing workshops and helps students plan their season, among other things. Hunter said that otherwise, students plan, organize and run the entire season of theater themselves. Hunter said Broadway Night started as an event that the theater did during covid.
“We were very limited as to what show we were able to produce,” said Hunter. “The only option we had was this cabaret style production where individuals or small groups perform Broadway music.”
Ena Cowherd is a sophomore animation major at Pennwest Edinboro and is the current Vice President of Edinboro’s Dramatic Activities Club. Cowherd said that she became interested in theater department on campus after University Player’s production of the Battle of The One Acts in 2023.
“It just seemed like a really fun community to join,” said Cowherd. “I’ve only done acting once so I figured that joining the theater would be fun, including with the upcoming “Broadway Night,” which I auditioned for, got in, and then got too busy to participate. But then I auditioned for “All Shook Up”, the 2024 spring musical, and I enjoyed the directors and the cast alike.”
Lillie Scholl, a senior animation major on Edinboro’s campus is the current secretary of the Dramatic Activities Club. She said that she originally joined the club because she used to be in her high school’s theater.
“My favorite part of being involved in Dramatic activities is hanging out with all the cool people involved in the theatre,” Scholl said. “They all are great people and if you like theatre and Musicals, I highly recommend coming and joining us. Personally, I had the most fun at last year's Broadway night. It's a fun night for all just to jam to a large variety of music at Diebold theatre.”
Cowherd said that other events held by the Dramatic Activities Club include a Broadway show every fall semester, a Halloween party in the fall, and a musical production every spring semester. For this year, the Fall Broadway show is Murder on the Orient Express, which is currently running from Nov. 14th to Nov. 17th. For the Spring musical next semester, the club will be putting on a rendition of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical.
Jahzia Ely, the current President of the Edinboro Dramatic Activities Club, says that the best way to join the club is to be involved in the University Players and Dramatic Activities meetings that are held every Sunday at 4:00 p.m. in Diebold Center.
Students interested in the Dramatic Activities Club can contact the club in a variety of ways: Follow the club on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok. Students are also encouraged to contact President Jahzia Ely at je214519@pennwest.edu and Vice President Ena Cowherd at COW61796@pennwest.edu. Faculty Advisor William Hunter can also be reached at whunter@pennwest.edu.
“I love DA since it is a club that encourages me to work hard to become the best singer/actress that I can be. We encourage others to work hard and push themselves out of their shell so they can become better at singing and acting,” said Cowherd. “That’s the benefit of being in the club, we see what you can do, and we only want to help you improve. If any theatre kids or students, are interested in acting or singing and always have been too nervous to try, DA is a great start to push yourself forward.”
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