Theatre Blog

New York- Fall 2025

Open gallery

Lila Epstein and Lewis & Clark classmates on the Brooklyn Bridge during their NYC Semester, Fall 2025

Lila Epstein- New York- Fall 2025

Throughout this past semester, my peers and I have had the wonderful opportunity to live in New York City, with the arts being our collective point of entry for learning about both the city’s past and present. Class work has been focused on the arts, divided into individual courses through which we examine NYC history and its ecosystem through architecture, the fine arts, and theatre. These courses have encouraged us to engage with our surroundings through both research and participation, with each class being centered around experiential learning via site visits, group reflections on these experiences, and creative projects.

Lewis & Clark NYC Students at the Met I have seen more art this past semester than I have in any other point in my life, which is honestly saying a lot since I am an art history major, theatre student, and overall art enthusiast. In any given week, we would attend at least one theatrical production, visit a museum, and be led through a tour of NYC’s architecture, and that’s only the activities required for our courses. A day on this program could look like visiting the Lincoln Center in the morning, touring the performance library, eating a hot dog, exploring the New York Historical Society Museum, and then ending the night with a show at the Met Opera. Having art and creativity so heavily ingrained in the day-to-day life of living in NYC proves that it is essential to the city’s function, providing only constant inspiration for my own projects and inspiration for my post-graduation career.

Lewis & Clark Students in costume in NYC Another unique opportunity this program offers is through internships. Each person on this trip has their own internship for the semester, mine being assisting a professional costume designer, Karen Boyer. As an Theatre Design major, with an emphasis on costumes, this has been an exciting opportunity to learn directly from a professional about the realities of being a freelance designer in NYC, something that is difficult, but incredibly rewarding. Through my internship, the process of transitioning from student to professional is no longer mysterious to me, as hearing about Karen’s journey proved to me that this dream career of being an artist is not only possible, but incredibly viable and fulfilling. Through discussion and collaboration, I have also formed connections with Karen and a number of other theatre professionals, all of whom have been incredibly supportive throughout this semester and will continue to support me in the future. I have also gained hands-on experience by helping manage costumes on film sets and during rehearsals for theatre productions.

Lewis & Clark College Students in NYC Fall 2025 This internship not only allowed me to grow career skills relevant to my studies of Theatre Design, but also pushed me to sharpen the skills learned in my Art History courses by taking full advantage of the plethora of academic resources in NYC. For instance, as part of my internship, I spent hours researching in the New York Public Library’s picture collection for historical images that would later inform the costumes and headpieces for a Brooklyn-based theater company. Through this project, I earned my first ever professional costume design credit! Being able to not just learn about the arts of NYC, but actually contribute to the creative ecosystem has been such a special opportunity to expand upon my interdisciplinary studies at Lewis & Clark.

Lewis & Clark students in NYC Fall 2025 The New York City: Fine Arts program has been a truly life changing experience for me. I have grown tremendously in terms of academic and career development, as well as in regards to the friendships and open-mindedness this program fostered. All of this was made possible by the impeccable guidance of Rebecca Lingafelter, our theatre professor extraordinaire and overall amazing human being. I couldn’t have asked for a better semester, and I am excited to bring all of my new experiences and knowledge back to Portland with me.

- Lila Epstein

Art History & Technical Theatre

Lewis & Clark College ’27