{"id":2077,"date":"2025-09-26T23:12:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T23:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogschapman.wpenginepowered.com\/undergraduate-excellence\/2025\/09\/26\/victoria-hess\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T06:23:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T06:23:39","slug":"victoria-hess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/undergraduate-excellence\/2025\/09\/26\/victoria-hess\/","title":{"rendered":"From Page to Stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"One of the 2025 recipients of the Center for Undergraduate Excellence Scholarly\/Creative Grant<\/a> <\/span>was Victoria Hess, a fourth-year student double majoring in Theatre and Integrated Educational Studies. Thanks to this funding, she spent this past summer on a creative project adapting a children\u2019s book into a one-act play.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hess\u00a0leveraged\u00a0her\u00a0double major\u00a0to create an\u00a0interdisciplinary\u00a0thesis project.\u00a0\u201cI knew I wanted to combine theatre and education…So I decided to create a children\u2019s play, but of course that costs money,\u201d said Hess.\u00a0\u201cI was looking at my different options, and my advisor had suggested applying for the CUE grant.\u201d\u00a0Hess only had about a\u00a0week to put together a proposal before the deadline\u00a0with the help of Dr. Jocelyn Buckner, Hess\u2019s\u00a0faculty mentor.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hess\u00a0had the idea to adapt\u00a0the children\u2019s novel\u00a0<\/span>The Borrowers\u00a0<\/span><\/i>by Mary Norton, which is a story about tiny people who live in human homes and borrow items for their survival.\u00a0Her partner\u00a0and Chapman University alumni, Sam Trott, helped write the adaptation\u00a0while Hess directed and produced the show, as well as building the set herself.\u00a0Due to the nature of the play being about tiny people borrowing regular sized objects, she had to build props such as a giant egg cup and a giant spool.\u00a0\u201cI fe<\/span>el like I had such a specific vision in mind\u00a0that\u00a0I was also like \u2018let me\u00a0just build the whole set,\u2019\u201d said Hess. \u201cI was just creating things in a way that I have never really done before, which\u00a0was really exciting.\u201d\u00a0Hess\u2019s\u00a0work experience\u00a0as an Assistant Technician for the College of Performing Arts allowed her to use her\u00a0previous\u00a0knowledge of building sets and props to create scenes for her play.\u00a0Hess worked on her play at the start of 2025 and was able to bring it to the stage\u00a0on August 7\u00a0at the Orange Public Library to an audience of\u00a0children, as well as a show for family and friends at the\u00a0black box theatre in Moulton Hall at Chapman University a few weeks later.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“It was<\/span>\u00a0such a learning experience,\u201d said Hess, while\u00a0reflecting\u00a0on this project. She explained how putting on this play shaped how she would take on more creative projects as she continues in this field of work.\u00a0\u201cMaybe if I did it again [in the future] I\u2019m already imagining something different or a different approach to directing and leadership.\u201d\u00a0As Hess is\u00a0finishing up\u00a0her time at Chapman,\u00a0she is working on graduate school applicati<\/span>ons to work towards a certification to teach theatre in high schools.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Scholarly\/Creative Grant assisted Hess in bringing her creative project to life. When asked about advice to students who are considering applying for a scholarly\/creative grant, Hess said, \u201cJust apply…I wasn\u2019t sure if I wasn\u2019t going to get [the grant], but it doesn\u2019t hurt to apply.\u201d She also stressed the importance of giving yourself time and grace to get your research\/creative project done.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For students who have scholarly\/creative projects in mind and are in need of funding,\u00a0the fall\u00a0deadline to\u00a0<\/span>apply for the Undergraduate Scholarly\/Creative<\/span><\/a> is October 31 at 4pm. To learn more about Victoria Hess and other students supported by CUE grants, visit the Argyros Forum Student Union Gallery display, on view through January ’26.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How Victoria Hess Brought Her Ideas to 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