Kristin Solodar

“During rehearsal over the weekend, stage manager Jaron Ma discovered that Kristin Branson did not know how to wink. At the end of rehearsal, the cast all sat around trying to give Branson tips on how to wink.”

The Theatre Department is hosting a Performance Showcase today at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., in the theatre.

The Performance Showcase consists of performance from students who will be competing at the 2013 Missouri State Thespians Conference in January.  Students will perform in the areas of: Solo Musical, Monologue, Group Acting, Group Broadway Dance and Improv Olympix.

The showcase will also feature a One-Act that will be performed after the individual events performances. The one act “An Actor’s Nightmare,” directed by senior Rebecca Bouchard and stage managed by senior Jaron Ma, will be one of the acts performed at the showcase.

“[Initially] I was super nervous when I had auditions because not enough people showed up,” Bouchard said, however “once I had more people I love my cast. I started out with very developed actors and I’ve gotten to see their characters grow.”

Bouchard directed this one act for her final exam in her Directing class.

For the main stage shows, students can be stage managers, which Bouchard has been four times, but being a director is completely different.

“There are a bit more decisions that ride on directing; how the script is interpreted, brought to life, delivered, and whether or not it’s a successful show rides on me. I also have to play many other roles; props master, costume designer and crew, lighting designer, sound designer, stage manager and student,” Bouchard said.

After 18 practices, one of Bouchard’s favorite memories was trying to teach senior Kristin Branson how to wink.

“Winking wasn’t easy for me. I practiced in the mirror, tried to force it with my fingers, and even looked up ‘how to’ videos on YouTube,” Branson said.