New artistic director assigned for Okoboji 2012

While some students left high school to get away from the drama, a select group of them came to Stephens for the drama — that is, the theatre program. Yet, in the past month, a little more drama and a little less acting has infiltrated the department as administration has brought an unpopular change to Okoboji Summer Theatre.

In early November, administration announced that alumna Jana Robbins would serve as the artistic director at Okoboji for the upcoming summer season. For more than a decade, Beth Leonard, dean of the School of Performing Arts, has maintained this position as one of the many hats she wears on campus.

According to an email sent to the faculty from interim Vice President of Academic Affairs Nancy Cornwell, Leonard "will use this opportunity to spearhead the development of exciting new theatre curricula over the summer. This will be important work to help grow the distinctive offerings of the Performing Arts program at Stephens."

When students heard about the change, there was more frustration expressed than excitement. Although Robbins will bring professional connections and years of experience on Broadway as a producer, director and actor, most students saw Leonard losing her long-standing position at Okoboji as an insult to her and the students.

"I'm excited to work with (Robbins). It's a great opportunity," said Melendy Forman, a second-year theater student. "But, Beth has put so much time and love into the program at Okoboji. It was like seeing a child taken away from it's mother. We were all very shocked."

Cornwell emphasized that Leonard was not fired.

"One's first reaction is to think someone got fired, and that's just not the case," she said. "What the case is, is that we're bringing new additional talent to provide an experience that will be very unique for students."

According to Cornwell, how Leonard was involved in this decision and how long she knew that she would not be directing before the students did are personnel matters that cannot be disclosed.

The students, however, were informed of the change in a meeting with Leonard. She told students, such as Forman, that she had discovered the day before that Robbins would be filling the position of artistic director.

"Everyone's mouths were wide open in shock," Forman said. "She cried, and so did many students."

Immediately after Leonard's meeting, President Dianne Lynch and Cornwell held a separate meeting in the East Dining Hall to address students' concerns.

According to Forman, she had never seen more angry people march to one place. Cornwell said it was important for Leonard to communicate with her students and faculty first but knew students would leave the meeting wanting answers.

"Mostly we responded to questions," she said. "We did our best to explain as much as we could around privacy and personnel matters."

Forman said the meeting lasted a couple of hours and many students voiced their opinions.

"One theatre major said, ‘First, you take away our men. Now, you take away Beth!'" Forman said.

Forman went on to say that comments became heated. Some students stood up for Lynch and Cornwell because the discussion did not remain respectful.

A third-year theater major, Megan Beddingfield, wrote Lynch a two-page letter addressing her response to the situation and the meetings.

At the end of the letter, she wrote,"The other woman at the forum stated she ‘felt sorry for the third years because they would never have such an experience that Jana could offer.' How dare she undermine my summer and my experience. She should think carefully before commenting on something she is so clearly ignorant about, because I had the best summer of my life partly due to Beth Leonard, something Jana Robbins and her Broadway credits could never offer me."

Beddingfield said she wrote the letter to defend Leonard because her job "was pulled out beneath her without so much of a blink of an eye, and that's never acceptable."

While Cornwell said Leonard juggled multiple jobs and relieving her would allow her to focus on developing curriculum, she did admit she had "it down to a finely tuned machine."

If that's the case, Beddingfield expressed her confusion in her letter as to why administration would try and change an already nationally recognized program.