Lynchburg Living

Art

Name: Linda Nell Cooper

Age: Depends on the day and how I feel!

Occupation: Professor/Director/Playwright

Hometown: Forest, VA (originally from Suffolk, VA)

Tell us about your job. How long have you been with LU?

I serve as the Chair of the Theatre Arts Department and Director of Theatre Programs. I also teach classes in Playwriting, Directing, Musical Theatre, Modern Drama and Advanced Acting. I began teaching at LU in 1992 in the English Department and moved to the Department of Fine Arts in 1997.

You have grown Liberty University’s theatre program into quite a sight to behold. How have you accomplished this over the years?

Not without help, that is for sure!

We started as an extracurricular club in 1997 with 18 students wanting to perform a musical. It then expanded to an academic minor in 2001 and a full-fledged major and academic department in 2005. We now have three major concentrations and over 150 students in the program. Attendance at our productions has grown from approximately 500 in 1997 to over 13,000 for this past fall semester alone. This could not happen without prayer and the consistent support of the University administration, faculty, staff, and student body, who have been loyal to us since the beginning. We have especially been blessed by the leadership and patronage of our Chancellor, Jerry Falwell, Jr., who saw a need and took action and who continues to support our artistic endeavors.

In the beginning, I, personally, directed every show, put together all of the costumes, found all of the props, designed the posters, etc. and slept very little. I look back 14 years later and wonder where the energy came from if not from God alone. We now have three directors and a staff of six in the department, and I feel so extremely blessed to work with such a dedicated, quality company of people.

“The Phantom of the Opera” is getting some big buzz around town. What can audience members expect on opening night?

An audience may expect a quality, professional show, one you would expect to see by a national Broadway tour. The audience will find passionate, exquisite voices telling a powerful love story amidst a myriad of special effects, vividly rich costumes, prima ballerinas, aerial choreography, a full live orchestra and a cast of 40 bringing theatrical magic.

What has been your most rewarding show to date?

I have many based on particular reasons. “Hairspray” was rewarding because we were finally able to show all of Lynchburg what our students could do on a large stage. “Jane Eyre” was rewarding because it was originally a flop on Broadway but one of our most beloved shows here on campus due to the specific, unique way we told the story. “Monte Cristo” was rewarding because it was an original musical, and we won many awards with it, including an invitation to showcase it at the American College Theatre Festival for our region. “Macbeth” was rewarding because it was our first non-musical to sell-out completely. “The Phantom of the Opera” is rewarding because it is the one in which I have immersed myself at the moment.

What do you love most about your job?

I love working with such talented, imaginative, intelligent students who inspire all of us to evaluate our own creative work and who question how our faith integrates our art. I love hearing back from our alumni who are proud of what they are offering to the theatre world. I love knowing every day will bring something different from the day before, and I love working in a university that constantly looks forward to the future while remaining connected to and encouraged by the past.

What is the most challenging part?

It is challenging to find roles and production positions for all of our students now that we have grown in numbers to such a degree. We are at the point where we need a second stage to run shows in two different locations at the same time to allow more performance opportunities for our students. It is also very challenging to work in a field where everything you do is placed literally in front of an audience, which means opening yourself up to scrutiny and misconception, so you are always striving to strike a balance with your work–but that only forces a standard of quality that you must maintain which is healthy for both you and the art.

The newly constructed Tower Theater opened recently to rave reviews. How has the new space aided LU’s performance capabilities?

We are now able to produce shows we never dreamed of before due to our former venue limitations. We have many more design options now to tell stories in a more interesting way for our audience. We are able to fly sets and actors and light them with state-of-the-art equipment. We are able to build sets that are three times as large as before and have casts that are larger than typical Broadway shows.

Is there a “dream show” you would like to put on that you haven’t gotten to yet?

That is an easy one–”Les Miserables.” It quickly became one of my favorite shows 15 years ago when I saw it in London. By the end of Act I, I wanted to rush the stage and join the Revolution myself! By the end of Act II, I was a sobbing mess as I walked out into the streets of the West End, and I knew I had to direct it one day so that I could explore the emotional impact of that libretto. Only three shows have ever affected me that way; the other two (“Ragtime” and “Parade”) I have directed, so I am waiting anxiously for the opportunity to direct this one.

Liberty University’s production of “The Phantom of the Opera” runs April 8-10, 15-17, 21-23, 29, 30 and May 1. Show times vary. For more information and to reserve tickets, visit www.liberty.edu/theatre.