Musical fraternity Alpha Psi Omega (APO) brought excitement to the Black Box Theatre with its second annual Upper Peninsula Day of Theatre, celebrating expression and the art of performance. 

The event, which was open to anyone at NMU, consisted of four skill-building workshops hosted by professors from both NMU and Michigan Tech University. These workshops focused on accents and dialect, costume and drapery skills, stage combat and other technical and performance skills. 

Beginning the day with fun theatre and U.P. trivia, students warmed up their minds and bodies for an exciting lineup of workshops. First on the docket was a dive into dialects, where participants learned about different accents and how they appear on paper. Then they practiced their pronunciation skills before jumping into scenes, practicing and performing dialects together. 

“My favorite part is being able to reach out and meet new [people] from across the Upper Peninsula, so these are professors that we don’t typically get to work with every day, but to realize there are other people in these fields that have different backgrounds and different experiences with the different parts of theatre that we don’t typically get to work with here at NMU,” APO President Bryson Krieger said.

The event not only allows students to reach out and work with each other but to also build connections with others with similar passions outside of their respective universities. 

APO hopes those who attend gain a broader understanding of theatre and what that can look like outside NMU’s campus — that there is more to being a technician and a performer than what someone may experience in a classroom setting. The hosts also wanted to show the attendees firsthand that the field they are entering is more supportive than competitive. 

Lachlan Beesley, a theatre technology and design student, said the APO community really helped him get out of his shell. He explained that the organization helped him be less introverted and more involved in the theater community, thanks to the welcoming atmosphere of the group. 

Exciting things are in store for APO this upcoming year, including collaboration with the Economic Student Association, which will provide a production team for the new financial diversity videos they plan to put out during the school year. 

Having a theatre major or minor is not required to participate in any event connected to APO, just an interest in entertaining and learning something new. They are always happy to take on new members.