Acting on Experience: Students Bring Local Stories to Life

“I had no idea what to expect,” admitted Gargi Gupta ’28, a student in the Elmira College accelerated BS to DO program, when she first signed up to take the newly created Term III Community Drama course. The course fit into her busy schedule and fulfilled a general education requirement, but that was all she knew before she walked into the classroom on the first day of the Spring Term and met her instructor, Sarah K. Chalmers, Lecturer of Applied Theatre and Theatre Program Manager.

Gupta and the nine other students in the course quickly discovered that part of the course would be spent interviewing community elders and then using those interviews to develop and perform a play.

For Gupta, who’s used to labs and clear-cut answers, the more free-form dramatic structure of the course was different. And she wasn’t alone. Isabella Coletti '28, a Medical Lab Sciences major, was nervous about being in a course where she couldn’t sit in the back and take notes.

“The first day I walked in, I was overwhelmed,” shared Coletti, adding that Chalmers and her fellow students instantly set her at ease. “We got to know each other. It was just a great environment.”

Throughout the course, Gupta and Coletti learned skills that aren’t typically taught in their majors. However, they believe the skills gave them the self-knowledge and confidence to succeed professionally.

These lessons began when they left campus and spoke with residents at The Courtyards at Bethany Village, Appleridge Senior Living, and the Economic Opportunity Program (EOP) at the Ernie Davis Center.

For Gupta, the interviews helped her develop the “bedside care” skills she’ll need when she becomes a doctor.

“During the hour-long conversations about the lives of the elders, I had to be present and be a good, active listener,” she explained.

“After I asked the first question, the elder would run with it and kept talking. I was never bored!” exclaimed Coletti, who had initially wondered how she would fill an hour interview.

“Speaking to these elders, they had a lot of life lessons and advice,” said Gupta. “I wrote out my reflections after each conversation, which captured that advice. Now I have a diary of what people told me.”

Tina Stanton, Family and Parent Engagement Advocate at EOP/Birth to Five School Readiness Program, was among those interviewed. She described how the experience made her feel heard and respected.

“The young lady who interviewed me was very easy to talk to. She was present and listened to my story, and I felt that she heard everything I shared,” said Stanton.

Students in the course wrote on large sheets of paper during their class time to reflect on the information they learned by interviewing community members and develop characters for the play.

Once the interviews were complete, the students worked in small teams to synthesize what they learned, teasing out themes from the 30 interviews and creating characters based on those themes. With only weeks to develop the play, which they called Reminiscence, the students didn’t write out a formal script. Instead, they worked collaboratively to craft stories and choreograph movements that they could perform consistently enough to appear seamless. Yet each performance was a little different.

“In science, there is a right and a wrong way, but in theatre, it isn’t one right way. I didn’t know where we were going to start given all of the information we had gathered, but it was exciting to see how we pulled it together.”

A scene performed by some of the students in the Term III Community Drama course in Tifft Lounge. Standing from left to right: Isabella Coletti '28, Gargi Gupta '28, Khamari Boyd '28, Zoe Slater '28, Jessica Bhandal '28, Charvi Karaturi '28, and Cameron Hackenberry '27.

As the play’s name suggests, much of the story was told by a grandfather character who shared stories from his youth that the cast reenacted. The stories included tales of love, hurt, loss, and accomplishment.

One of the audience members during the Elmira College performance, Joanne DonDero, shared how the performance reminded her of the last conversation she had with her grandmother and made her feel “like a valued senior citizen.”

At the EOP performance, Stanton admitted she was moved to tears watching the performance.

“A particular moment in my life was written into the play, and I instantly felt that proud moment again,” she confided. “It was like, ‘Yes, I did this!’ It was an awesome experience not just for me, but for the other participants as well.”

For Coletti, stepping outside her comfort zone and working through the collaborative process helped her meet a personal goal she had set for herself when she first arrived at EC.

“At the beginning of the school year, I made a goal to become more comfortable and outgoing. I think after the play I’ll be more confident,” she shared.

Gupta hopes other students appreciate the value of a liberal arts education.

“I recommend that all college students take as many courses as they can that are reflective and outside their major,” she said. “I’m glad I took this course. It’s what I had expected college to be like.”

For these students, what began as a general education course became a defining college experience and one that will shape how they engage with the world beyond EC.

Community Drama students pose with residents at The Courtyards at Bethany Village, who helped inspire the content of the play the students developed and performed.