Everything to Know About the New Phillipps Stage 

How did the Phillips stage get started? How did it come to fruition?

“The Housekeeping & Events Department and Media Services have been working on ideas to have more student events that require a stage or live music without needing to use the Sanctuary or Chapel. 

The Director of Media Services, Chris Joseph, had the idea to put a stage in Clay Commons to take more advantage of a space that is primarily dedicated to Students for student events. Chris and I approached Student Development and got permission to do a trial run for the Spring semester to see what type of engagement we got and what type of events people would want to host there.

As part of the trial run, we are starting by using staging and equipment we have on hand to get a better idea of what students would want and what would fit the types of events we are having. 

The hope is, that in the future we can have a more streamlined and user-friendly system for students to use. While the setup sounds great now we understand it might not be the most user-friendly to set up for the semester as we do our trial run.”

What is the purpose of the stage?

“The primary purpose of The Phillipps Stage is to provide a place for students to host more casual and self-supported events as well as smaller events that normally wouldn’t be able to use the Sanctuary or Chapel spaces. Like a stage you would see in a coffee shop, there might be a show or activity going on but it does not change the primary function of the space. Having something booked for the stage does not permit the closure of Clay Commons, except in very specific circumstances. Anyone in the community can come and go as they please and enjoy a performance/activity while also being able to study, play games, and hang out.”

Who can sign up to perform on the stage?

“The stage is open to all current students. While we are hoping to engage areas like COFA to host events like Jazz and small performances. We hope that students come up with other things they want to do. Housekeeping & Events along with Media Services will be looking at hosting some open mic nights throughout the semester. Some events we hope to see are: poetry slam, student bands wanting to perform a set, theatre one acts, vocalists/instrumentalists, prepping for recitals who want more performance time, talent show, karaoke, etc.

Any event needs to be appropriate for our community and follow our community guidelines.”

Students can request the stage through GatherNCU using the Event Request Form. On the day of your event, you can pick up microphones and cables to power the system from Student Life on Miller Hall floor One. 

Upcoming events

There are currently two student events scheduled for The Phillipps Stage:

• Delta Kappa Worship Night: Feb. 9,  8p-9p
• Improv Night: Feb. 10, 5p-7p

“We hope to have more events on the schedule soon and will announce them as they get scheduled.”