Six freshman make their collegiate debut in “Dracula”

Dracula, the theater department’s first mainstage show of the season, features some fresh faces to the program: six cast members and the assistant manager. Of the 14 people that are involved with the show, almost half of them are freshman. Rebekah Gardner, Emma Hart, Hannah Kelly, Callie Payne, Rachel Shipley and Nancy Vo all made their college theater debut on Oct. 4 in the theater department’s production of Dracula.

Emma Hart, theater freshman, plays one of the attendants. Hart went to a small 1-A school near Abilene, and said that she’s excited to really dive into the world of theater.

“Theater in high school didn’t really count. It was just a credit everyone had to take,” Hart said. “People in college are so passionate.”

Even though her high school did not treat theater as a serious thing, Hart has been acting since she was 10. She has even done some work with a professional company AMTC, Actors, Models, and & Talents for Christ.

“I did AMTC and got a lot of training and got to go to workshops and conferences,” Hart said.

Even with her professional work, Hart said she’s never gotten training as good as what the theater professors here give.

Theater freshman Rachel Shipley, who is the assistant stage manager for the production, got a different experience than what she was expecting for her first college show. Shipley is a performance emphasis, and after not getting cast in Dracula decided to work on the technical side of things.

“It’s nice to observe people and see how Christie likes to direct before I have to act in the department,” Shipley said. “It’s given me a unique perspective.”

Shipley said that one of her favorite things about doing theater on a collegiate level was that her typecast went away. Since she was new to the department, the directors were able to look at her with fresh eyes and not think about the roles she’s always had to play.

“In high school I was always cast as the mom,” Shipley said. “Since I’ve been here I’ve gotten to read for different things, which is exciting.”

Nancy Vo, a theater freshman and one of Dracula’s vixens, is new to the stage. This is Vo’s first acting credit, after having stage managed and worked with lights while in high school. When coming to college Vo decided to take a chance and become a performance emphasis. She said she wanted to understand what the actors go through, so she decided to audition for the mainstage shows.

While she’d audition for shows all four years of her high school career, she was never cast.

“High school theater is all about the insecurities. In college there are more opportunities,” Vo said. “It’s a lot more freeing.”

After Dracula, Vo will get the chance to be backstage again and will act as one of the assistant stage managers in the theater department’s next production, Our Town.

Vo said that she’s excited to doing technical work again.

Dracula began performances on Oct. 4 and continues Oct. 11 and Oct. 12  at 7:30 p.m. The show concludes its run on Oct. 13 at 2:30 p.m. The show is free for MSU students and faculty, and $10 general admission.

Theater freshmen, Callie Payne and and Emma Hart getting ready for the high school matinee of “Dracula”. I interviewed them about their experience in their first college show. pic.twitter.com/bGW7KqrQan

— Nicole Smalls (@smallsenicole) October 10, 2018