by Mitchell Brown, Reporter
In a couple of weeks, history is set to be made at the University of Central Missouri. Kicking off the first weekend of the upcoming fall semester, an unorthodox theatre production will come to life. The event will be the first time a UCM student, senior Dane Schnake, will direct a mainstage production at the Highlander Theater on campus. Students at UCM have had the opportunity to direct one-act plays, but the coming presentation is on an elevated level. The grand undertaking by UCM theatre students will be “Avenue Q,” a noted Tony Award-winning musical.
“This is such a bigger thing,” said Sarah Bronson, senior theatre performance major, who plays the role of Kate Monster “This is a full-lengthed, two hour, full-fledged musical.”
Plans were developed for “Avenue Q” last semester. The rehearsal phase started in July.
“Obviously, we had sort of an interesting audition process,” Schnake said.
Schnake was looking for actors who could bring the puppets of “Avenue Q” to life and transfer their own personal physical and vocal energy to the puppets.
“We have to bring these furry, foam, felt, pieces of fur to life and captivate audiences to watch them,” Bronson said. “That has been a challenge.”
Bryson Kenworthy, a senior theatre performance major, playing the role of Nicky, is an actor in the show who has experience operating puppets, yet he also spoke of a challenge.
“I think the biggest difference for me is that the focus needs to be on the puppet,” Kenworthy said. “ I have a very expressive face as an actor, and (I am) trying to tone down the expressions on my own face and trying to portray them on a puppet who can show a lot of emotion, but his mouth only opens and closes.”
Although “Avenue Q” is a musical with puppets, it’s not intended for children. Bronson described the show as adult “Sesame Street” because it contains mature content.
“I went back and watched some old ‘Sesame Street’ clips to learn how to work a puppet,” Kenworthy said. “The way the characters (in “Avenue Q”) speak are identical, but the subject is very different.”
The subjects of the songs in “Avenue Q” cover topics like pornography, racism and homosexuality.
“It really does deal with some heavy stuff,” Bronson said.
“If you were to take away the cutesy aspect, like without that comedic incongruity, it could possibly get too real for some people in the audience,” Schnake added.
Schnake believes the production is ideally suited for a college audience. When discussing which number from the show would probably resonate the most with the audience, Schnake, Kenworthy and Bronson were in agreement on “I Wish I Could Go Back To College.”
Kenworthy, who is scheduled to graduate in December, explained how the song strikes an emotional chord with him.
“It’s talking about how easy life is in college, and it really gets me in the emotions,” he said.
With a chuckle, Kenworthy explained that the relatability of the song is due to being so close to graduating and the song’s content is close to becoming his reality.
Transcending beyond musical numbers and cussing puppets, Schanke said “Avenue Q” is ultimately about growing up. Schnake elaborated on the subject, saying the musical is also about a sense of impermanence.
“No state of being is going to be how you are for the rest of your life. No single purpose is going to be the only thing that you do,” Schnake said.
Opening night for “Avenue Q” is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Highlander Theater. For more information, follow the production on Facebook here.