Call me crazy, but I don’t think people give actors enough credit. Oh sure, some Hollywood actors are paid millions of dollars to appear in films, and some television and movie stars are worshipped like gods and goddesses online, but by and large, non-actors don’t seem to completely understand the sheer amount of work that goes into putting on a performance. It’s not entirely their fault, of course. When most people watch a movie or play, all they see is the finished product, (hopefully) looking precise and polished and effortless. They never see the hours of stressful rehearsals that were required to create that product, and so some of them begin to falsely assume that acting is easy. Well, I’m here today to clear up that myth by highlighting the cast of Metamorphoses, the Sewanee theatre department’s most recent production, and paying tribute to the enormous amount of effort that they put forth in order to create the spectacular show that played its final performance at the Tennessee Williams Center this past Saturday.
(Pictured from left to right are: Max Hagan, Reevie Walton, Kasey Marshall, Tori Hinshaw, Krystal Fowler, and Madison Jones. Photo by Ruth Guerra.)
The cast consisted of twenty-three members: Donny Abel, Dan Backlund, Balazs Borosi, Allison Bruce, Emily Daniel, Lily Davenport, Will Burton-Edwards, Krystal Fowler, Marion Givhan, Max Hagan, Kalynn Harrington, Levi Higgins, Tori Hinshaw, Will Johannsson, Madison Jones, John Mark Lampley, Kasey Marshall, Brian Reiss, Tia Strickland, Audrey Tchoukoua, Reevie Walton, Karissa Wheeler, and Huntre Woolwine. Most of the actors—with the exception of Backlund, who is a professor—are students, meaning that they willingly gave up what little free time they already had in order to attend rehearsals several nights a week, in addition to keeping up with schoolwork and various other extracurricular commitments. Of course, this experience is far from unique. Many student athletes also find themselves in a similar situation, but it is a testament to how hard the Metamorphoses cast worked. Additionally, several of the actors also served on the crew, helping to design and construct the set, create the costumes worn onstage, collect the props used by actors, and more. Although, for the sake of being concise, I decided to focus this article on the cast of Metamorphoses, I do not mean in any way to discount efforts of the crew, who worked equally hard, if not harder, than the cast and will likely receive even less attention for their contributions. If you happen to see someone who worked on the Metamorphoses crew around campus, please congratulate them as enthusiastically as possible. They certainly deserve it!
Now, you might be tempted to wonder, “What makes this girl such an expert?” Well, as you might have noticed, my name is also included in the above list of actors. Yes. I, too, was a part of the cast of Metamorphoses, and while I’ll readily admit that I didn’t work nearly as hard as some of the people I have mentioned, I was absolutely astounded by the dedication, resilience, and talent displayed by other members of the cast and crew. It made me realize that we are truly blessed here at Sewanee to have such a first-rate theatre department, packed to the brim with devoted members who sincerely want to make each show as good as it can possibly be. I loved getting to share Metamorphoses with all of my fellow Sewanee students—as did everyone else who worked hard to bring the show to life. It was truly a labor of love, and we were so grateful to see it finally come to fruition.