The Department of Theatre is welcoming two new faces to the Benson stage in this year\u2019s Homecoming musical, \u201cAnnie Get Your Gun.\u201d Freshmen Allie Scott and Max Ross will take the stage for the first time as the leading roles Annie Oakley and Frank Butler.<\/p>\n
This is the first time in Harding\u2019s history that the two leading roles in the Homecoming musical have been portrayed by freshmen.<\/p>\n
Although they are new to the theater program, director Britton Lynn said that he never had any doubt in the newcomers\u2019 ability to take hold of these challenging roles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve never cast freshmen as leads before simply because we hold auditions in the spring before the musical in the fall,\u201d Lynn said. \u201cThe freshmen aren\u2019t on campus … This year, as we started the audition process for the leads, it was at almost the same time that we were auditioning our freshman class for scholarships … and as we were looking at the different talent pools we thought, \u2018I wonder if we should look at a freshman.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Lynn said the department was apprehensive at first, having never done anything like this before.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a year of firsts,\u201d Lynn said. \u201cIt\u2019s my first time directing the Homecoming musical. When we got into the process, there were a lot of things that we said, \u2018well, we\u2019ll do it this way because this is the way it\u2019s always been done.\u2019 But because there were a bunch of new people, we thought, \u2018maybe we can do it differently; maybe we can try something new.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both Scott and Ross said they are excited for this opportunity during their first year at Harding.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really different to come into my first semester of college and to kind of have a leadership position, especially in a department that I imagine myself spending quite a bit of time in the next four years,\u201d Ross said. \u201cI thrive on a busy schedule so coming in and jumping straight into something was a really nice way to transition into college and to adapt to being so far away from home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott, an active participant in theater since the age of 6, is playing the principle role in the production and she says she could not be more excited to portray such a strong and vibrant character.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnnie Oakley is very fiery, she\u2019s very sassy, she\u2019s very direct,\u201d Scott said. \u201cShe goes for what she wants and she figures out a way to make it happen, and that\u2019s very inspiring to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott also says that portraying a historical figure has been a new and exciting experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt almost makes it more meaningful,\u201d Scott said. \u201cI\u2019m portraying someone who actually lived and who was breaking the stereotypes of women shooting guns back in the 1800s and being really good at it. She\u2019s pushing a lot of stereotypes and changing American culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both Ross and Scott say that they want their experiences to inspire other new students to plunge headfirst into theater at Harding.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would just encourage people who\u2019ve thought about doing theater but are hesitant. I\u2019d definitely say to do it,\u201d Scott said. \u201cOne of my favorite things about acting is being a storyteller and getting to put myself into somebody else\u2019s shoes. It really helps with empathy and seeing things from other people\u2019s perspective. Through understanding a character, you can gain real life skills about understanding people, and I think that\u2019s incredibly valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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