The HopKins Black Box Theater in Coates Hall began its 20th season Wednesday with a showcase of performances by communication studies graduate students.
The show included stand-up comedy, poetry and a film.
“It’s eclectic. It’s fun,” said Savannah Ganster, communication studies graduate student and co-producer of the showcase.
Ganster said the showcase has kicked off the Black Box season every year since the theater’s beginning.
The theater was opened in 1991 by Mary Frances HopKins.
Since the theater is self-sustaining, the showcase helps keep it running and unfazed by budget cuts because donations are collected at the door, Ganster said.
“It enables us to keep this place alive,” Ganster said.
John LeBret, the theater’s manager, said the Black Box is a classroom and performance laboratory for students in the communications studies department.
“As a laboratory, our performances tend to be more non-traditional,” LeBret said.
Ganster said students use the opportunity to experiment with new techniques and to integrate what they learned in the classroom.
“We don’t put on shows just to entertain; we put on shows to learn,” Ganster said.
She said performing in the theater allows students to study all facets of performances, including avant-garde, conversational and theatrical.
Eddie Gamboa, communication studies graduate student, said he wrote and performed a solo performance about the immigration debate, which he described as “part acting” and “part