Dan Woods sat down with Dr. Kenn Stilson, chairperson of the Conservatory of Theatre & Dance at Southeast Missouri State University to discuss the department's upcoming Extravaganza and the special 10th Anniversary production of "Big River."
Woods: First, tell our folks what the extravaganza is and what it does for your students.
Stilson: Well, the extravaganza was founded in 2010 and it is our major fundraiser for sending our students to New York City and Los Angeles and paying the way to bring in outside professional guests to come and work with our students here on campus. So in New York and Los Angeles we have showcases and that is a gateway, of sorts, for the students to leave the university and to launch into their post-graduate careers.
Woods: So, the extravaganza raises money so the students can participate in this so tell us when the extravaganza is and I understand there will be a tie-in with "Big River," a preview, maybe, of "Big River"?
Stilson: Absolutely. Every year our extravaganza is tied to the spring musical and this year it is "Big River." This is a special production and it is our 10th Anniversary can you believe that? It has been 10 years, 2007, we opened the River Campus with "Big River" and so now as our 10th Anniversary we are again producing "Big River." The extravaganza is on Thursday, January 26 and it's at the Isle Casino in Cape Girardeau and that is our fundraiser that is gonna help send the students to New York and L.A. But every year it has the theme and this year it is "Big River" and we are very excited because it's probably one of my favorite musicals of all time.
Woods: I remember being there in the audience 10 years ago to see it and this year something very special is gonna happen at "Big River."
Stilson: This year with "Big River" we are bringing back Lester Goodin who is going to be portraying Mark Twain in the production and Lester is the reincarnation of the real Mark Twain I do believe. And then we're also bringing in a very special artist his name is Broderick Twiggs. A lot of the people in the Cape Girardeau area will know Broderick because they've followed his career since he was a very young man and he's extraordinary. His ability to sing gospel particularly which is what Jim sings, it is spiritual, deeply spiritual and his ability to sing and his acting abilities are just really outstanding. We are very excited to bring him back and he was in our original company like Lester was but he was a young boy at the time. So, he was in the ensemble and now he's coming back 10 years later and he's playing one of the two major roles, he's playing Jim.
Woods: It's been 10 years and if you had to just sort of encapsulate the 10 years into a few thoughts what would you say?
Stilson: It's a whirlwind. When we moved into the River Campus in '07, I think we had around 80 majors. Now we have 180 majors. We're receiving more applicants than we can even accept so the quality of the talent that we're bringing in is going up, up, up every year.
The Theatre & Dance Extravaganza will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 26 at the Isle Casino Event Center in Cape Girardeau. Tickets are available online at semo.edu/showcasegive
The special 10th Anniversary production of "Big River" will take place February 22-26 at the River Campus. Tickets are available at the River Campus Box Office or by calling (573) 651-2265.
