Emilie Eustace
Features Editor
Can you introduce yourself with your name, major and hometown.
Hi, my name is Patrick Wellman. I am a senior, and am double majoring in studio art, with a focus on sculpture, and theater, with a focus on the tech side of things. I am also from Ann Arbor, MI.
What are some activities that you are involved with on campus?
Outside of the theater department, where I am involved in most shows on the technological side of things, I am also the Live Action Role Play (LARP) club Vice President. I have been involved in the LARP club since my first year.
What is your favorite thing about your major?
I decided to double major in studio art and theater because these have been two of my interests most of my life. I knew that I wanted to do art stuff during my time here as a way to continue doing art. Both of my majors are things that I have done the majority of my life and greatly enjoy doing, so I kind of just thought that I might as well stick with both of them. I decided that I wanted to double major in the two instead of just majoring and minoring because frankly, it seemed like it would be more fun.
I love seeing the different art installations by Ebert! Tell me all about your I.S.
My I.S. is called “Euripides’ Medea in Sculptural performance,” which is a very blunt title. I am creating a performance of the Greek tragedy Medea, by Euripides, using sculptures that I crafted myself. My advisors, Darren Kendall in the arts department and Naoko Skala in the theater and dance department have helped me with certain parts of both the construction process and the accompanying writing. The sculptures are made from wood and 3D printed parts, costumed in fabrics specifically chosen to represent each character. The performance itself takes place in the Oak Grove on campus, and runs for 14 days. During that time, I am documenting and taking pictures often of how the figures fare in the weather, and seeing what nature decides to throw at my project.
Who is a professor that you have been impacted by during your time here at Wooster?
It is hard for me to say that. My advisors are great people, and I love working with them. I tend to just take my own path as an individual and do what I want to do. I have been that way most of my way through high school, I guess. So, they have impacted me in the sense that I like them and would enjoy working with them outside the context of school, but less so an impact on me as an individual on a personal level. They are both lovely people, both Kendall and Skala. The other person who has left an impact on me on campus is Mike Schafer, the technical director for the theater department. I have worked with him all four years that I have been here, and throughout this time, I was led on a track that would allow me to become a technical director myself. We did experience some road blocks in that track due to various things that have limited the theater department’s functionality, mainly the fact that we went remote for two semesters. But, through all of this, the two of us have worked together the best that we could to keep me in that educational direction.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
Outside of classes, clubs and work, where I am employed at the seam shop in the theater where I spend a number of hours per week and get paid for my work there. Most of what I do is play video games, or more commonly, I spend a lot of time just kind of tinkering with things. As I mentioned earlier, I kept on the art track because it was something I’ve always done. A lot of my art is something that I just feel like making or feel like fixing. So, I do sort of general maintenance repairs on the house that I live in on campus. If a small part has broken, I will often try to fix it instead of calling maintenance, as I enjoy doing so. I also do a lot of quality life stuff for myself. Recently, I completely reorganized my tool storage method because I have a large supply of tools of my own. I recently upgraded from a large cardboard box to a handful of toolboxes, in which I designed and modified myself to make work.
What would you go back and tell your first-year self?
I haven’t really changed a lot of my technique of going through college since my freshman year. A lot of what I have done here at college is stuff that I learned to do or not to do during my time in high school. I also took a gap year between high school and college to learn how I like to operate, about myself, and just in general. So, I guess the only thing I would have done is be more warned about what the future is going to bring, cryptically. Not really anything specific, but I would just have it implemented in my brain that things are going to go wrong.
Is there anything that you would like to plug, or do you have any other comments?
I have been having great delight and great fun sort of leaving the greater community in the dark about my project. It has spawned more discussion than I could ever do on my own by informing people, and that has been a large part of what I have been interested in seeing. It was not built into my I.S. itself, but has provided me entertainment through reactions of people seeing these figures randomly pop up in the woods. I have gotten to have great conversations with anyone who walks past me while I am doing theme changes, and have found great delight in hearing people’s reactions and having those conversations. It was not an intentional side effect, but is a welcomed one.