Today we speak with Seth Jackson, a sophomore Theatre Arts major from Baltimore, Maryland, who lives on campus in Rowan Blvd. Apartments (Robo.) Seth will share his #PROFspective with us on what it’s like to be a Rowan University student and how he’s getting the most out of his college experience as a Rowan Prof.
Name: Seth Jackson
Major: Theatre Arts Major (Acting/Directing Track) within the College of Performing Arts
Your Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
Resident: Yes, Rowan Blvd. apartments (Robo)
Academic clubs: Senator on Lab Theatre e-board (executive board)
Social clubs: Campus Players
Do you work on campus? Not yet (hopefully soon)
First generation college student? Yes.
Why did you chose your major? I choose Theatre Arts as my major because it’s socially challenging. Theatre has a stigma for being an “easy major,”
but it really isn’t. So much time, dedication, thought, and physical exertion goes into the process of doing a show. Being someone who loves to analyze things and entertain people, it was the perfect choice.
One reason why you chose Rowan? I chose Rowan University because it had a “homey” vibe. It wasn’t too big, yet it wasn’t small either. I’m able to see familiar faces around campus, yet still be able to meet new people.
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My Typical Day as a Rowan Student
On Mondays I wake up at around 9:30a.m., but I don’t get out of bed. This semester my first class on Mondays and Wednesdays is Acting 1 at 11:00 a.m., so I just lay in bed and check social media. I’m not a morning person so I usually wait until 10:20 a.m. to start getting ready for the day. I live in Robo and my first class is in Bunce so it takes me about 10 minutes to get to class. In Acting 1, we’re studying Konstantin Stanislavski, so class starts with an open discussion on the assigned reading, leading to us getting on our feet and working with Stanislavski’s technique for acting.
After that class, I have about two hours before my Speech and Dialects class at 3:30 p.m. I walk to the Student Center to grab a burrito from Sono, and then I head home to watch Netflix and finish any homework I have. I leave my room at 3:00 p.m. to avoid because late, because my Speech and Dialects class is in Wilson Hall – a decent walk away. I always have a comic book and a play on me at all times to read at random moments throughout the day. I’ve always loved comic books, DC Comics being my favorite comic book company and Harley Quinn being my favorite character. I want to be a famous playwright one day so I’m always reading other plays to gather inspiration and to get a deeper understanding of playwriting from other playwrights. So before class, I read one of the two options until my Speech and Dialects professor (who is also my Acting 1 professor) starts the class.
After that I have about another two hours before Fundamentals of Playwriting from 6:30 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. I only have this class on Mondays and I look forward to it every week. I’ve already written several plays, one of which I directed and performed in a one man show my senior year in high school, and I can’t help but see this class as a st
ep in the right direction for me. I am Senator for Rowan University’s Lab Theatre, and through this organization Rowan students (who have taken Directing 1) can propose a show that they would like to direct the following school year. A maximum of 4 shows are picked for the season, and it is a great opportunity for directors to showcase their work while providing more opportunities for Theatre and Dance majors, and non-majors, to perform. Next school year, I plan on proposing to stage one of my original plays: “The Blurred Perspectives”, a play written in prose, poetry, and spoken word about five individuals who are forced to merge with a mysterious, omnipotent entity, to become one singular person. The play deals with themes of death, eternity, individuality, and fear set in a chaotic limbo. I feel like it will be a testament to who I am as an artist and a person.
To end my day, I go home, take a shower, eat, and play the Sims on my laptop for about an hour before going to bed.
We are #RowanPROUD and we are Rowan Profs! Not exactly sure what a Prof is? It’s our owl mascot, Whoo RU. Read about him here.
Story organized and photography by: Jen Green