by Elise Goitia '18

In her role as a KnoxCorps Fellow, Missy Preston '15 has created a new program that enables students to learn about theatre operations while also serving as volunteers at the Orpheum Theatre.

KnoxCorps is a local civic-engagement partnership established to connect current Knox College students and recent graduates with non-profit organizations in the surrounding area. The students and graduates help address critical needs in the Galesburg community.

When Preston graduated in 2015 with a major in theatre and a double minor in anthropology and sociology and English literature, she was unsure where she'd go after Knox.

"I interviewed with the Orpheum through KnoxCorps and just thought, these people work at a 100-year-old building every day, and they're a little family, and they get their hands dirty. I wanted to do that!" she said. "And, lo and behold, day of graduation, they said, ‘You can do that.'"

The Orpheum Theatre has been a Galesburg landmark since it opened in 1916. Originally built as a vaudeville house, the Orpheum hosted celebrities such as George Burns, Harry Houdini, and Fanny Brice. The Orpheum was restored in 1988 and has since been home to a variety of performing arts.

Preston started her KnoxCorps service in fall 2015, and by winter term, she had established the new program at the Orpheum. Through the program, known as the Knox Orpheum Theatre Young Theatrical Alliance (YTA),  Knox students can volunteer three to five hours a week at the theatre. In return for their service, they can participate in weekly hour-long seminars led by Orpheum staff members.

The seminars cover different topics. The focus, Preston says, is to provide a learning experience about how a functioning theatre operates through the lenses of business, theatre, event planning, publicity, and, above all, curiosity.

YTA is open to students not just with an interest in theatre, but from all backgrounds and experience levels. 

"Being in college theatre, there's a lot of wonderful stuff to learn, but there's also a lot of stuff you can't learn due to a limit to your space," she commented. "You don't get to work with a weighted batten system, you don't get to pull lights up and down and pin them on. We have something that's different."

Through YTA, Preston intends on "bridging that gap between Knox and the Orpheum."

"I want it to start being seen as what it really is," she added, "which is a learning opportunity that's right down the street."