Written by Gina Cielo
Over the years, Harding’s plays and musicals have undergone a number of changes.Robin Miller, director of Harding theatre programs, has experienced these changes firsthand. Miller has been involved in the theatre program since 1973.Coming to Harding with the intent to be a preacher, he soon found out his calling might be in a very different field. Miller got involved in theatre and participated in his first play, “My Fair Lady,” his freshman year. Miller has not looked back since that moment.He is now the director and technician of all plays and musicals at Harding.With so many years of experience under his belt, Miller said one of the biggest changes over the years has been the scale of the shows. Performances used to be in the Administration Auditorium, where the stage is about 30 feet wide and the capacity is about 1,000 people. Nowadays, the scale is much larger. The shows are performed in the Benson Auditorium, with a 99-foot-wide stage and a capacity of 3,700 people.According to Miller, the idea of the dinner theatre, which began 25 years ago, has also come a long way.”When we first started the dinner theatre, we started in the student center, where we literally took out some tables in the seating area and built a platform,” said Miller.The dinner theatre also found its place in the cafeteria and the Hammon Room. The show is currently performed in the Ulrey Performing Arts Center.While the location of the plays has dramatically changed, the costumes have also taken a similar shift. Now, costumes have to be more historically correct. People have become savvier about clothing and also about history, Miller said.”We can’t cut as many corners as we used to,” Miller said.Also, the tool-making skills of costume designers have decreased. In the past, almost every woman knew how to use a sewing machine. In today’s world, it is very rare to come across a student with sewing skills.”Nowadays, when somebody walks into the costume shop, we say, ‘Hi, that is a sewing machine; you sit on that side,'” Miller said.Miller has also noticed a great change in the amount of talent students come into college with. He said that there are not as many people with singing backgrounds but definitely more with public speaking and acting skills.The last change Miller has seen throughout the years is the fact that the Harding student is now busier than ever. Students are involved in more extracurricular activities, thus limiting their availability for rehearsal times. Miller said he has gotten used to juggling schedules.There is no doubt that the theatre program has undergone a lot of change since 1973, and there is no doubt that the future holds even more transformations.
