UC Santa Cruz

In this thesis, I will clarify and examine the networking opportunities integrated into BarnStorm, UCSC’s student produced Theater Company, both for BarnStorm students and the BarnStorm community at large in the 2016-2017 season. These networking opportunities focus primarily on professional and community development. I define networking as both an occasion for professional development on an individual level, and an opportunity to establish a stronger BarnStorm community; it is a tool for BarnStorm students, audiences and community members to connect with one another. Networking in the context of BarnStorm straddles the worlds of professional development, community building and personal growth. It provides students with opportunities to grow as theater practitioners and active community members. I intend to establish the necessity of social and professional networking in the context of BarnStorm. In exerting BarnStorm as both a professional and social network, students gain an opportunity to grow as artists and citizens. I will utilize Shane Dawson’s "A study of the relationship between student social networks and sense of community as the framework to explain and define the BarnStorm and UCSC Theater Arts Department networks.