S. L. FULLER
News Editor
“This might be too stereotypical ‘arts profile,’ but I’m a horrible athlete,” said Dr. Ralph Blasting, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. “I did play on a sports team in high school, which people don’t believe. I was on the football team. I was not any good. I played left guard and if you’re a guard, you just kind of scrunch down and people run over you.”
Blasting has always been an artsy person. In elementary school, he played an instrument, sang in chorus and got involved in plays whenever he could. And when he realized it was possible to major in theatre in college, Blasting was sold and, as they say, the rest is history.
“I really love the arts,” said Blasting. “This idea that Fredonia had to pull these four large divisions — three big departments and the Rockefeller Arts Center as a producing organization — and make them their own college is just everything that I love to do.”
Growing up in a small town near Herkimer, New York, Blasting said his favorite part about being in his 20s was going to college and leaving his hometown.
“The best part about being in my 20s was being away from home. And I don’t say that to be disparaging about my family,” said Blasting. “I just wanted to go away from that little town and away from all those people and do something more on my own. I would say the best thing was being away from home and being able to make my own decisions and make my own mistakes.”
While he obtained a bachelor’s of fine arts degree in scenic technical theatre from Wayne State University in Detroit, Blasting spent his four undergraduate years working in the scene shop. But after a while, he realized he was a little bit different than the rest of his peers when he became the go-to guy when someone needed help writing a paper.
“I guess one of the things that was a little bit different about me is … I really liked going to class and writing papers. And many of the people that I was working with did not like going to class and writing papers — they just liked building things,” said Blasting. “So I guess I was known [as] the person who could help people out with their papers that were due the next day on Shakespeare.
“And it turned out that that’s part of the reason I, in graduate school, switched over and I got my Ph.D. in theatre history,” continued Blasting. “I really enjoyed doing the research and the writing. I still enjoyed working in the theatre in the scene shop, but I didn’t think I wanted to do that for the rest of my life all the time.”
Because of this change of heart, Blasting empathizes with the students he teaches at Fredonia who may feel hesitant when thinking about the future.
“I would say the worst part about being in your 20s is just uncertainty; not knowing if you’re going to do okay in what you’re trying to do,” said Blasting. “In the class that I teach … I keep emphasizing there’s a lot of jobs in the arts. It’s a big industry. But it’s very difficult to see exactly what the path is from the class you’re taking right here — the degree you’re getting right here — to a real, reliable job. And they’re there. But there’s nobody who can tell you what’s exactly the way to get to it.”
Blasting’s journey has turned out to be a very satisfying one. But, he didn’t totally leave his affinity for building sets, and other handy work, behind him.
“I used to think I didn’t have a hobby. But I asked myself, ‘if I have a free Saturday, what do I enjoy doing?’ And it turns out that my hobby is small home repairs,” said Blasting. “I don’t look at putting on a floor or doing some painting or fixing a faucet as a job that I really wish I didn’t have to do. I actually like doing it. So that’s my hobby. It’s a very useful hobby because you save a lot of money.”
While his daughter lives in Arizona, Blasting enjoys his home with his wife, Laurie Detenbeck, who is a part time teacher at Fredonia, and two cats named Artemis and Larry. He says his calm homelife truly balances out his demanding job as dean. But don’t let Blasting fool you into thinking that he’s a boring guy outside of the office. In fact, he sent this email the day after his interview for The Leader:
“Yesterday was fun. Thanks. I thought of something unusual. I’ve been to Minsk three times, with students, to restore abandoned Jewish cemeteries. That’s another story for another day…”