When people hear the phrase “I’m a theater major,” their first reaction is usually either a chuckle or a scoff. Many students do not fully appreciate the work that theater majors put in. Senior Griffin Dewitt embodies the work ethic required to be successful in this field.
Dewitt’s area of study focuses mostly upon lighting and to a smaller degree, set design.
“I like lights a little bit more because I’m less likely to hurt someone” Dewitt joked.
In all seriousness, Dewitt’s studies look at the important role that lighting plays in setting the mood and tone of a production.
For his senior project, he discussed the work he did on the production of “Smash” that was done on the Pacific University campus.
Dewitt showed how he used a multitude of different types of lighting in order to create specific feelings throughout the play. He went through several scenes from “Smash” and described the effect he was attempting to create using these different types of lighting. Lighting is often overlooked by viewers, with the majority of the focus being placed upon the actors and the design of the set.
Although Dewitt is currently a theater major, when he first became a boxer he was studying to become a musical educator.
He quickly came to realize that his heart was in theater, and after taking a theater workshop class he decided to give it a shot. Since then Dewitt has not looked back and hopes to continue his work onward into the future.
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