Theatre arts major makes history attending national Kennedy Center festival

A simple course taken freshman year not only sparked a passion for theatre in Emily Shaffer but inspired a change in academic emphasis that’s led to a milestone opportunity on a national stage.

Shaffer, a senior theatre arts major at Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg, will soon spend a week in Washington, D.C. for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Arts Festival’s (KCACTF) National Festival participating in masterclasses, networking with professional theatre companies, such as Arena Stage, and working on revisions to her personal theatre company pitch with the ASPIRE Arts Leadership Program.

It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity she earned by winning the ASPIRE Arts Leadership Finalist award to represent KCACTF’s Region 2, becoming the first Bloomsburg student ever to do so.

“Theatre arts majors attending the festival are exposed to an array of different artists and how they operate, as well as countless workshops in their areas of choice,” Shaffer said. “The biggest benefit I see is the connections. Theatre students interact with hundreds of other student artists. Making connections in the theatre industry is how you thrive. So, making those connections while still in school is extremely valuable. Connections I’ve already made will certainly last a lifetime.”

Shaffer’s theatre company pitch, Pop Up Workshop, will be the focal point of her time at the national festival, where she’ll have the chance to compete for scholarship money and national-level awards.

“I’m a theatre maker who focuses on an array of areas in theatre, but my main area is playwriting,” Shaffer said. “I’ve gone through several new play development processes as a playwright and have been affected by negative voices. Most, if not all, playwrights can relate in one way or another.”

Negative voices in a new play development space can affect playwrights drastically, she says, sometimes shooting down confidence or even motivation to write.

“My dream is to eliminate that all together,” Shaffer said. “I want all playwrights to know that Pop Up Workshop is a place they can go to for guaranteed safety, positivity, and support in developing their work.”

Shaffer’s idea is to establish a traveling theatre company focused on bringing new play development workshops to playwrights across the country.

“Big cities and small towns, Pop Up Workshop will announce our season of scattered locations coast to coast,” Shaffer said. “The goal of our company is to offer playwrights a healthy opportunity to develop new plays — not asking if this play works, but how it works — and utilizing positive practices in the space.”

The new play development process is what launched this all for Shaffer, dating back to her second semester at Bloomsburg.

“I took the new play development class, which was the first time it was ever offered,” Shaffer said. “That class got me thinking about how a career in theatre could mean so much more than what most people initially think. A degree in theatre is extremely valuable and can be applied to many different fields.”

She added, “This degree, aside from teaching students the ins and outs of professional theatre-making, teaches students how to public speak, how to make a pitch, how to be an effective collaborator, and so many more incredibly important skills that could be applied to any job.”

A change in academic major and a passion for new play development ensued. That summer Shaffer participated in the first Plays in Bloom: New Play Development Residency and each residency offered since then. And in 2023, she had a new play development process for her own play, You Make Your Own Family.

“That same semester, I was involved with a new play development process of Dark Clouds,” Shaffer said. “This semester, I’m having a new play development process of my play, Earth, I Want to Stay.”

Shaffer says her motivation and excitement about theatre continue to grow after each new play development process and festival experience.

“That's one of the big ways, for me, that the KCACTF experience connects back to Bloomsburg's theatre arts program,” Shaffer said. “We love what we do. We want to be here.”

Through her experience, Shaffer says, there’s a lot of common ground between how her major operates and what’s offered at the Kennedy Center festivals.

“In classes, we frequently engage with theatre professionals and have worked with many professional guest artists on our MainStage productions,” said Shaffer, who will next pursue her MFA in Screenwriting and Playwriting at Point Park University. “Bloomsburg's theatre arts program operates every production in a professional way, so when students graduate into the industry they’re ready to get right to work.”