Do Superheroes Have to Eat their Vegetables?
This year’s children show will be going up, up and away to another galaxy in Do Superheroes Have to Eat Their Vegetables? The show will be filled with adventure, superheroes, aliens, and you guessed it-vegetables! Superheroes is another original production written by Southeastern alumnae Ruby Quinn. This will be lucky number seven for Quinn. Some of her past work includes, Bubbles Big Top Adventure, Emperor’s New Clothes and last years Jack and the Beanstalk.
Superheroes follows the adventure of a young boy named Scooter and his friends as they try to figure out what it means to be a true superhero. Together they find that if they put their minds to it they can achieve anything.
An exciting new development to this years children’s theatre production is animation. For the first time Theatre @ Southeastern will be working with an animator, Garrick Staggs. The characters will be on screen and then come alive in front of your eyes. “ What I like about this show is the ability to combine technology and art. Young people today enjoy cartoons with a lot of creativity and technology and to be able to mix that into the theatre is totally exciting,” says Quinn. Staggs began studying 3D graphic design six years ago. He taught himself by purchasing books and programs that had the information needed to learn this art form. The past three years he has began to study 2D animation and has made commercials for Tulsa businesses the last two years. “The opportunity to work on Do Superheroes Have to Eat Their Vegetables has been very exciting and it will be interesting to see the audiences reaction to the onscreen character Mighty Maximus. I strongly encourage anyone who has interest in animation or graphics to definitely get an education in the field, those with a degree in this field will have a lasting future,” says Staggs.
The Office of Academic Computing will be partnering with Theatre @ Southeastern. This is the third such partnership between the programs. Last summer they used new technology in Love is Here to Stay a George Gershwin review. “This spring the joint venture production of Three Sisters was a huge hit and now Academic Computing will help bring the animation to life,” said Dell McLain Director of Theatre, “Faculty members from several other universities contact me about how the relationship between the theatre and Academic Computing was working, I told them you need a faculty and staff with an adventurous spirit and an administration dedicated to discovery. We’re very fortunate to have both here and SOSU”.
In addition to the Durant performances Theatre @ Southeastern will also tour this children’s show to Claremore, Oklahoma where they will perform on April 25th-27th. This is the first time Theatre @ Southeastern will perform at the newly established Robson Performing Arts Center in Claremore.
The cast includes Acting/Directing and Pro. Education major Melissa Gragg as the mom, Musical Theatre major Chris Page as Scooter, Acting/Directing major Lacey Rowe as Fantastica, Acting/Directing and Musical Theatre major Chase Jackson as Minimus, Acting/Directing and Technical Theatre major Noah Crissman as David, Acting/Directing major Payton Guthrie as G-Rock. The Alien ensemble includes Acting/Directing and Musical Theatre major Vanessa Miller, Acting/Directing and Musical Theatre major Aleisha Stills, Theatre Management/Promotion and Musical Theatre major Chris Sanchez, Musical Theatre major Katie Roesler, Musical Theatre major Rachel Joslin, and Acting/Directing, Musical Theatre and Technical Theatre major Rebecca Blackmore.
The technical crew includes McLain, director for the production, Musical Theatre major Shawn Sturdevant, stage manager, Joslin, properties designer, Acting/Directing and Technical Theatre major Heather Whitsell, costume designer, Technical Theatre/Design and Musical Theatre major Nicole Godwin, hair/make-up designer, Acting/Directing and Technical Theatre major Casey Merciez and Noah Crissman, light design, Sanchez, sound designer, and Technical Director Dr. James Cunningham, set designer.
The show will run the week of April 9th-12th. There will be day performances for the local elementary schools during the week and a performance for the public on Thursday evening April12th at 7:30p.m.