By Saige Mattson
MOORHEAD – After theater faculty shakeups last year, Concordia has brought in a new visiting assistant professor of theater, Jessica Chipman. Chipman, a playwright originally from Iowa, worked in the high school setting and directed theater in Minnesota before coming to Concordia to share her talents with students.
“I started out as an English language arts teacher in a high school setting and was also a speech coach many years ago. I directed the plays and musicals at the school where I was teaching, and I realized that my favorite part of the day was the time I got to be in rehearsal. I also started writing a lot more at that time, and that kind of germinated into something that is a large part of my work today,” Chipman said.
After realizing her true passion for theater, Chipman went back to college, earning her Master of Arts degree in theater production from Central Washington University before attending the University of Idaho where she graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in directing.
“As long as I can remember, I can remember my mother playing cast recordings on a record player in my youth. Theater has always been part of my life in some way or another, and being a playwright has also been a huge part of my life for many years. I’ve been directing and writing ever since I ever since I could and have spent a lot of time in collaboration with a lot of wonderful artists that share common goals,” Chipman said.
Playwrighting is a large part of Chipman’s life, and a number of her plays have been published. Most recently, her play “Waves Waves Waves” was a semi-finalist for the Henley Rose Playwright competition, the Austin Film Festival Playwriting Award, and the Gary Marshall Theatre New Works Festival.
Additionally, Chipman is the founding artistic director of Wild Gem Theatre Company, which, according to Chipman’s personal website, defines itself as “a pop-up theatre company that values meaningful performing arts experiences and educational theatre.”
“I’ve spent time working at various theaters like GREAT Theater in St Cloud, and I started my own theater company, called Wild Gem Theatre Company. So, I’ve had a lot of other experiences outside of the educational setting as well. Just a lot of hats and a lot of different places. And I’m so glad that it’s led me here,” Chipman said.
Currently, Chipman is teaching a Comm 110 course and an acting course at Concordia. This spring, she will be teaching a directing course, an acting course and a theatre history course as well as directing the spring show, Our Town.
“One of my approaches is to de-center myself, both in the educational space and the rehearsal space,” Chipman said. “I think that in the theater space, when a person is directing, there has to be someone who has answers for questions and has central ideas. However, we’re in a collaborative art form, and so it’s my belief that the best idea wins in our setting. That is a point of view that I have that I bring to both the classroom and to the rehearsal setting.”
Chipman believes that theater has the power to change, inspire, and ask “big questions.” She hopes to bring a sense of community, rapport, and collaboration to the Concordia Theatre department whilst telling important stories through art.
“I think that the theater world is about telling the stories of all people for all people, which certainly does not mean that every person has every right to tell every story. I’m most interested in asking really big questions with art, and not necessarily having all the answers, but allowing the communal experience between the theater artists and the audience to be in conversation with one another,” Chipman said.
