CHASS Dean Daryle Williams is sponsoring the CHASS Night Out series, an opportunity for performing arts students to view live, professional shows. On March 4, students from the Departments of Music and Theatre, Film, and Digital Production (TFDP) traveled to the LA Opera to watch a tech rehearsal of Mozart's “Così Fan Tutte.”

Music professor Dana Kaufman has been organizing these field trips on Williams’ behalf. This CHASS Night Out series expands on Kaufman's previous field trips, which started in 2018. According to Kaufman, attending professional performances is an invaluable experience for students who intend to work in the performing arts. Watching a live rehearsal allows students to witness authentic career building and compare their own experiences to those of a professional.

“Seeing live professional performance is so important because it helps us aspire to professional goals,” Kaufman said. “It helps teach us about career paths, but there’s also a human element. There are times when they will need to redo a certain portion of the rehearsal. And that’s so exciting because it shows us that the rehearsal process is real. We go to these shows, and they seem so magical, but we also see the hard work that goes into it.”

One attendee to the show, political science major Alex Mejores, had difficulty expressing how much he enjoyed the show; after taking time to gather his thoughts, he decided he had fallen in love with the production elements.

“My favorite thing about the show was its set design,” Mejores said. “I feel as though the scale of the set itself is my favorite part. When you're sat in a seat with these towering monstrosities, you can’t help but be in awe of the production.”

Each trip involves a different performing art, allowing students to observe their differences. On Feb. 9, students went to the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles to watch the touring Broadway cast of “Sondheim’s Old Friends.” Another trip is scheduled for May, bringing students to see a rehearsal by the LA Philharmonic. Currently, trips are centered around the Los Angeles area, but the program may expand to other local regions in the future.

“We are open to suggestions and want to go see whatever interests students,” Kaufman said. “So if any students have any suggestions or want to see anything specific in LA, we certainly want to hear it. We are also open to Riverside performances and performances in the surrounding area. We went to the National Association of Music Merchants conference in Anaheim in January; there are all kinds of events that we are interested in exploring.”

FEATURED PHOTO. A group of TFDP and Music majors huddle outside of the bus before near the entrance to the LA Opera.