Eastern Theatre Student Sinque Tavares of West Haven Performs at CREATE Conference

2016 May 6

More than 250 talented students at Eastern Connecticut State University presented research and creative work at the university's second annual CREATE conference this past April. CREATE stands for Celebrating Research Excellence and Artistic Talent at Eastern, and is the university's premier, academic year-end showcase. At the culminating event, students of all majors presented professional posters, live music, dance performances, artwork, photography, documentaries and panel discussions.

Sinque Tavares '16 of West Haven, who majors in Theatre, performed at the conference. Tavares's performance presented alongside classmate Anthony Piccione, was titled "Neo-Melodrama - Reviving and Renovating Old Theatre For New Times."

"In the past, melodrama was a fairly popular genre in theatre," said the students in a joint statement. "Yet as time has passed, the sort of old melodramas that have come to define the genre in the eyes of theatre critics and historians have fallen out of vogue, as other forms of theatre have become more popular among producers and directors alike. Considering the fact that we live in a time when arts funding is low and continuously at risk of being cut, and that money to put on high-tech productions can be hard to come by, the performance and storytelling aspects of theatre are more important than at any other time over the past two centuries in the history of theatre. We believe the theatricality and emotion-driven performances associated with melodrama should be reconsidered and revamped for new times, as we seek to ensure that theatre remains an engaging and popular art form. We believe that these four short original plays - 'The End of the Line at the End,' 'What I Left Behind,' 'Two Cousins and a Pizza' and 'Halftime from Outer Space' - are examples of how melodramatic performances can still be successfully applied to theatre in modern times."

Remarking on the variety of presentations, Professor Dickson Cunningham, conference co-chair, said, "CREATE encapsulates the essence of the liberal arts in one afternoon. It is an intellectual smorgasbord."

Speaking to the value of CREATE, Eastern President Elsa Nunez said, "It takes a very strong and dedicated student to produce this quality of work, and it's important for other students to see this output." Praising the faculty, she added, "It takes a committed and skillful mentor to guide students to the work that is on display. Mentorship is such an integral part of undergraduate research."

During the one-day conference, the Student Center crawled with artistic and scholarly activity. Students in professional attire addressed their peers, faculty and family. In the cafe, ensembles performed; in the theatre, student-produced documentaries were shown; in the Betty R. Tipton Room, aisles of posters depicting scientific research were displayed; across the hall, a gallery-worth of paintings lined the walls; and on the ground floor, panel discussions and oral presentations about the humanities took place.