Webster’s Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts (WebCo) houses the university’s musical theatre, acting, directing, design, technical theatre and stage management students. The program is certainly one of the university’s most renowned, and with its own theatre partner on campus, WebCo is able to help students thrive in the ever-expanding theatre scene in St. Louis.
With many theatrical institutions such as The Muny and Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (The Rep) close by, Conservatory chair Gad Guterman recognizes the opportunities for student career development.
“We’re lucky to be in a city that has a lot of arts organizations up and running,” Guterman said.
WebCo partners with The Rep, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Variety Theatre, The Muny, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival and Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre. Except for Arrow Rock, all are located within a 15-mile radius of Webster.
Michael Baxter, WebCo alum and the associate artistic director of The Muny, wanted to create an opportunity where students could audition without feeling the stress of working around their school schedule.
The Muny hosts seven other major auditions throughout the audition process, including a specific day geared toward Webster Conservatory students that allows them the space and chance to leave their regularly scheduled classes to have a professional opportunity.
“I believe not only as an artist, but a curator of talent and believing in the incubator of talent that The Muny is, there should be an opportunity for those Webster students to be seen, to be heard, and to be their true authentic self in the audition room,” Baxter said.
Though Baxter had an extensive background in dance and theatre training before attending college, the outlet that Webster provided allowed him to hone in on his skills and craft a lifetime of opportunity for work in theatre.
“The basis of my work and training at Webster gave me a profound sense of wisdom,” Baxter said. “It gave me a sense of myself, confidence and belief in what I can ultimately be and bring to this crazy biz called show.”
Senior acting major Isa Venere recently worked with one of the Conservatory’s partners, The Rep, starring in its recent production of “Athena.” This was her second professional show, where she worked alongside many other Webster alums.
“The Conservatory definitely provided the training to prepare us for how to audition for shows like that; and ultimately, when we’re in professional spaces, how to carry yourself, how to take care of yourself and how to be a nice person to work with,” Venere said.
Her first professional show was also at The Rep, last year’s award-winning production of “August: Osage County.”
Though much smaller in scale to New York City’s theatre scene, St. Louis makes up for it with a vibrant local arts scene.
“I think St. Louis is actually a really lovely place at which to start and build a professional portfolio, whether you’re a performer or a designer or a technician or stage manager, because the theatre scene is small enough that you can really build a name for yourself very quickly,” Guterman said.
Freshman costume construction major Shannon Mayo aims to head to New York after graduation, but agrees that sticking around St. Louis would have its perks.
“I would be totally fine with staying here in St. Louis as there are so many great theatre companies, departments, options, all, everything, just in one city,” Mayo said. “I feel that St. Louis has one of the most prevalent abundance of theatres in the country, in my experience, at least.”
Not only does theatre bring excitement to St. Louis, but it also brings its values. Baxter believes his work at The Muny is a clear and thoughtful representation of why musicals matter.
“They are important to our culture, they are important to the success of our city, they are important to the success of us as a nation,” Baxter said. “As all as people come together to sit under the stars to watch a musical and see empathy and humanity on stage, it is the clearest representation of what makes us better human beings.”
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