{"203591":{"#nid":"203591","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Balance Is Key to Foulger\u2019s DramaTech Role","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom a witch in Macbeth to an Andean grandmother in Condor Qatay, Melissa Foulger has played a lot of parts in her life. But her current role as artistic director with DramaTech is one of the most\u0026nbsp;challenging \u2014 and rewarding \u2014 she\u2019s ever experienced.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis balancing act between advising the students and letting them make their own decisions \u2014 and sometimes mistakes \u2014 is challenging,\u201d said Foulger, who has been in the position since 2008. \u201cEach group of students I work with year to year has different needs when it comes to how much I assist them.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere are certain tasks that she\u2019s always responsible for, such as working with them on the budget, but when it comes to everything else related to putting on the productions, Foulger makes it a point to ask the students what they do and don\u2019t want her help with. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cTo avoid stepping on their toes, communication is really key to success,\u201d Foulger said. \u201cWhen I feel strongly about what they should do, I try to be transparent regarding the reasons why.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFoulger also makes it a point to be available to communicate with the students whenever they need her, which sometimes means responding to emails or texts after 9 p.m.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBeing this responsive turns this into more of a 24-hour job, but that\u2019s OK with me,\u201d she said. \u201cI love how intelligent these students are and how engaged they are with DramaTech. Getting to work with them is what makes this job so satisfying.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently, The Whistle learned more about Foulger and her time at Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDid you always want to be in theater?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAbsolutely. My mother tells stories about how when I was a toddler, I would clear the hearth at my grandparents\u2019 house, stand on it, and put on plays. That was just the\u0026nbsp;beginning.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you arrive at Tech? \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile I was working on my master\u2019s of fine arts in directing at the University of Memphis, I was required to get an internship and found one at Atlanta\u2019s 7 Stages Theatre. This internship evolved into a paying job as the associate artistic director. After that wrapped, I went to work in a one-year professorship at Georgia College and State University. Then, I decided to apply for this job at Tech, and here I am.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat does your job entail?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003EAs you might imagine, I do a little bit of everything. I teach a three-credit-hour course on theater each semester and occasionally teach a course on a special topic related to theater. (I\u2019m currently looking into working on a course with the School of Music that would focus on musical theater.) Some days, I drive around buying props for shows. Other days, I sit in on meetings to advise the students on decisions ranging from show choices to marketing. And then there is the time that I spend directing many of the shows that DramaTech stages. A lot of days, I\u2019m here from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your favorite type of play to direct?\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003EThe shows I tend to gravitate toward are more contemporary and deal with darker subject matter. With that said, there is one mainstream play that I\u2019ve always wanted to direct: Tennessee Williams\u2019 Night of the Iguana. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us something people might not know about DramaTech. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003EPeople often think it\u2019s only for students. Sure, they get priority when it comes to participating in the productions. But we also love to have faculty and staff get involved. If you\u2019re interested in acting, set design, or any aspect of what we do, let me know. And the shows are open to anyone in the community to attend. Our latest production, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, opens April 5. More information can be found at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dramatech.org\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dramatech.org\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is your favorite spot on campus? \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003EThe secluded garden near Skiles and the Library. It\u2019s so peaceful there. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is your favorite spot to have lunch? \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003ELa Parilla, and I love to order the enchiladas suizas.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us something unique about yourself. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003EIn 2005, while I worked with 7 Stages, I took a show on tour to Bosnia, Romania, and Serbia. It was striking to see the aftermath of the conflict. I saw buildings that were riddled with bullet holes. The experience was just unbelievable.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom a witch in \u003Cem\u003EMacbeth\u003C\/em\u003E to an Andean grandmother in \u003Cem\u003ECondor Qatay\u003C\/em\u003E, Melissa Foulger has played a lot of parts in her life. But her current role as artistic director with DramaTech is one of the most challenging \u2014 and rewarding \u2014 she\u2019s ever experienced.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"From a witch in Macbeth to an Andean grandmother in Condor Qatay, Melissa Foulger has played a lot of parts in her life. But her current role as artistic director with DramaTech is one of the most challenging \u2014 and rewarding \u2014 she\u2019s ever experienced."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2013-04-01 15:32:47","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:59","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-04-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-04-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"203531":{"id":"203531","type":"image","title":"Melissa Foulger","body":null,"created":"1449179952","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:59:12","changed":"1475894859","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:39","alt":"Melissa Foulger","file":{"fid":"196651","name":"melissa_ii.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/melissa_ii_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/melissa_ii_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":152922,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/melissa_ii_0.jpg?itok=VWeZ4uW8"}}},"media_ids":["203531"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/dramatech.org\/","title":"DramaTech"}],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1062","name":"dramatech"},{"id":"15346","name":"Melissa Foulger"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}