Interim Director Hopes to Challenge and Inspire ATU Theatre Students
It is easy to see that theatre is Dr. Eshelman's passion. Before Eshelman made his way to Arkansas Tech University, he graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a BA in Theatre, English, and Religion. He then attended the University of Texas at Austin Michener Center for Writers, and received his MFA in Writing specializing in playwriting and screenwriting. He finished his education by receiving a PhD in Theatre, writing for performance, at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Eshelman specializes in playwriting. He has written many plays and radio theatre productions for the university. His work has even hit the spotlight in other states such as North Carolina.
Preferring to direct new plays, Eshelman likes to challenge his students with something that they’ve never seen or done in the past.
“I specialize in plays that people have never heard of,” said Eshelman.
Not only does he direct theatre productions on stage and on the radio, but he also teaches speech, oral interpretation, voice and diction, and writing for performance.
Eshelman was recently named the Interim Director of Theatre as Arkansas Tech searches for a new director. Eshelman said that he does plan to apply for the official position.
“I’m very excited about this position,” he said about being named Interim Director.
During his time as the Interim Director, he has a lot of things to take care of. Clean-up of the Techionary is on top of the list. Progress is being made, and dates are being set. He also stated that there will be a play in the fall for the university to look forward to.
When asked what his plans for the department were, Eshelman told River Valley Leader that he wants to operate on a smaller scope and succeed. He wants to focus on challenging plays for his students.
“Our theatre needs to be opening doors in the whole field. Students need to be challenged,” he said.
He hopes to put a strong emphasis on these challenging aspects, and wants to spotlight script writing. Eshelman also stated that he wants to build publicity, and public support for the program.
He expressed that theatre is a very important program to have within a university by saying, “Some people understand the world through science. Some people understand the world through mathematics. And some people understand the world through doing.”
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Tech Theatre
Funny how dates and repairs for the Techionary (which were once deemed too massive to continue in this building)are being set after Dr. Brown demoted two faculty members that had opposed him in the past. As Dr. Brown has often mentioned his priority for student safety, maybe he should be more concerned with armed assaults that happen in his university's own dorm system. And I personally am still waiting for my new and improved emergency text message from Arkansas Tech informing me of any possible threat to my personal safety to arrive. Oh, wait...I guess it's easier to make that call after we've talked to our publicist. If I am a Board of Trustees member for Arkansas Tech, I would like to think that am objective enough to see a pattern forming around the president of the university that would require a closer look into recent issues, and not just grant the usual rubber stamp approval that Dr. Brown has come to expect.
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