“How often do you get to see your friend in biology come and perform on stage and be a lead?” Cate Goglia, a junior theater performance major, told The Panther. 

Goglia’s statement is a good encapsulation of Chapman Student Organized Productions’ (CSOP) diverse membership, one where students of all majors are welcome to partake in theater productions. The club is forming bonds and pushing the boundaries of theater at Chapman as they prepare for their new musical “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.”

The musical will play on April 18 at 7:30 p.m. and April 19 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Hall. Written by Dave Malloy, the musical is an adaptation of a portion of Leo Tolstoy’s 1869 novel “War and Peace.” Set in Moscow in 1812, the story follows lovers Natasha and Pierre as they, in Goglia’s interpretation, venture to rediscover the meaning of love by questioning what society has taught and given to them. 

“Because if society is not built with love in mind, how do you then strive for (love) and find purpose in that?” Goglia said.

Across production, design, creative, cast and band, the team is made up of 74 students — making it one of the largest CSOP productions, and spirits are high.

“We have an absolutely phenomenal team. Everyone is so energetic and so excited to be on this project… which makes it so much more fun,” said junior theater technology major and production manager Elizabeth Kulaga.

The key to CSOP’s teamwork and success is its support of one another and its empowerment of each member and their respective strengths.

“We trust each other and we respect each other and we run it so professionally, it's like we are working in the theater industry,” said Brent Stefani, junior creative producing major, scenic designer and co-technical director. 

“Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” also marks the first time that the club has picked a musical that is entirely sung; the music is unceasing and there is no dialogue outside of song lyrics.

“It's almost like an opera in format by the fact that we sing through it the entire time,” Goglia told The Panther. “So that requires a lot more skill and a lot more specificity.” 

For example, because of the continuous music, the show requires more lighting cues — done by  junior computer science major, lighting designer and co-technical director Brady Fisher. 

“It's pretty much non-stop from start to finish. There's very little downtime, which is challenging, but also something that I'm very excited about,” Fisher said. “Overall, it's a massive project. I would say larger than a lot of the (Chapman’s College of Performing Arts) shows, and it's being entirely run by just students. Obviously, we had the Memorial (Hall) staff who are helping us out, but, besides that, it's completely student-produced.”

Because the College of Performing Arts (COPA) only allows students majoring in its department to work on its productions, CSOP has been an incredible creative outlet for non-COPA majors like Fisher and Stefani to be involved in theater at Chapman. 

“It’s really unfortunate because there's a lot of students at the university who are super talented and would love to be involved (with COPA), but they're not allowed to be, like myself,” Fisher said. “That's why I joined CSOP; because it allows me to do what I love, and it's one of my hobbies.”

CSOP embraces its collaboration between performing arts majors and students in other fields of study. The cast, for example, is made up of nine theater majors and 16 non-majors.

“I love working with non-majors. I think they have a different mindset towards productions because they're not being taught theater stuff hours on end every day. And so they have a refreshed eagerness to them of wanting to learn,” Kulaga told The Panther.

Despite not studying the performing arts, many non-major CSOP members participated in theater programs in high school. This collective level of experience is part of what allows CSOP to function so professionally, while still remaining a learning experience for everyone involved.

“There are people with varying levels of experience and expertise in CSOP, but I'm really given a lot of trust and a lot of support when I need it,” said Stefani, who was involved in theater and stage design in high school.

CSOP champions inclusivity and with its large team, most Chapman students can trace themselves back to a friend involved on stage, backstage, or in production. Goglia urges you to give “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” a chance. 

Students can follow along with CSOP’s projects and find opportunities to get involved with the club on Instagram.