Hello!
The Board
The Hornets' Nest Artistic Board is a team of representatives from each class dedicated to a four-year commitment to the organization.
Each fall, first-year students are invited to apply and interview for a position on our team. In their first year, new board members will work under two returning members to learn the duties of various positions on the board. As board members graduate and leave SU, the underclassmen move into the positions for which they have been trainging.
Who are we?
Hornets’ Nest Student Theatre is a student organization officially established in the Spring of 2019. Each academic year this group will produce one play and one musical (with the possibility of additional performances and opportunities). With the exception of one faculty advisor, productions will be directed designed, produced, and performed entirely by students - bringing new experiences and enrichment to their creative lives and goals. There will be no set company for the organization- apart from the Artistic Board, students’ participation is on a production to production basis. This student group is a safe place for students to explore, to fail, and to take risks all with the support of their peers.
Our Founders
Erik Daughterman, Emily Steinhardt, and Abby Wright
Faculty Advisor: Kevin Covert
Hornets' Nest Place on Campus and Our Goals
Hornets’ Nest is the first and only Shenandoah University student organization designed to provide the students of the University the opportunity to practice their skills in the Direction, Music Direction, Choreography, and Design of full-scale musicals and plays- For many students, this directly contributes to their ultimate career goals, providing supplemental experiences beyond the academic training offered by current SU degree programs.
Providing these opportunities is a necessity for both student and program growth. Nearly every ‘Top 10’ Musical Theatre/Acting Program in the United States has at least one Student-Run Musical Production Company. From a University marketing standpoint, this is beneficial to future recruiting endeavors. In an increasingly self-driven industry, prospective students are actively seeking theatre programs that offer student-driven opportunities such as those that Hornet's Nest provides.
Beyond the needs of the conservatory, Shenandoah University will reap the benefits of this program as well. For students whose majors lie outside of the Theatre Division, the opportunities to participate on stage or backstage are few and far between, and the chance to participate in a musical is virtually non-existent. Hornets’ Nest provides the opportunity for students outside the Conservatory to join in on the art being made by its students.
Hornets’ Nest has already attracted a large interest within the conservatory and is currently building its reputation across the University as a whole. Hornets’ Nest hopes to achieve more collaboration with other Conservatory and University Student Organizations. In upcoming years, Hornets’ Nest seeks to expand its reach off-campus to high school and middle school theatre departments, as well as various community outlets such as Senior Living Communities, Nursing Homes, Spiritual Organizations, and Public Events.