What does it take to create an amazing three night, in a row, sell out of a live preforming show? Directors like Garrett Pezant and Dara Affholter get the community and the students inspired, engaged and coming back for more. They brought a passionate, funny and intense story of “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenaged Blockhead” to our campus.
“This show is special because where most of the shows will have of the donations go back to the Theatre Council for future shows we had 10 percent of the proceeds go to the Trevor Project. Which is a teenage suicide prevention project and since this show really deals with that we decided that this was something we totally needed to do,”Affholter said.
Both of these incredibly talented individuals are Theatre Majors and I learned that there is so much more to these individuals than what meets the eye. Pezant is from Edmond, Okla., and Affholter is from Mesquite, Texas two different places one same dream to create those reactions that people have when they truly love a performance.
Pezant found his passion through his family. One simple family tradition created a love for the entertainment industry, but what really got him into theatre was when he saw Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella with his mom. Te difference in a live performance’s environment in comparison with the movies he had been watching was enough to make him say “this is it!”
“The best part about art is when you see it, you sometimes discover something about yourself that you didn’t even realize. You find things or feel things that you didn’t think you could and I think we do a good job of creating those shows that make you think,” Pezant said.
Affholter found her passion for theatre in middle school with her first part in a show. Throughout high school she didn’t always get parts and that’s where she discovered her skill for costume design. Coming to college gave her a fifficult decision to make.
“It’s scary to decide to major in theater. My mom sat me down and she was like you need to do it! And I was like, but I will be poor forever! My mom just said she would rather me be happy than to see me not doing something that I love,” Affholter said.
Giving students a different perspective of what live theatre can be all about is something both Pezant and Affholter want. As college students, we are experiencing our lives through the freedom of our own decisions whether they be well-planned or reckless. We all experience adventure differently, some travel, some create art, but most of us are seeking our dreams and seeking ourselves.
“…the upcoming seasons have been chosen and is geared toward the community of Stillwater. I think people should come see our shows because they do have a great message and some are fun, some are dramatic and we do these shows for a reason. We put on these ginormous productions so that people can see them and come get something out of it,” Affholter said.
For more information about OSU Theatre shows, go to http://theatre.okstate.edu/theatre-schedule/. The upcoming show is “The Mineola Twins.” It is goes through three different decades. It’s packed with interesting and crazy scenes.