Second Studio, the student-run theatre company at Southern Utah University, will be holding their first SUU Live event of the semester on Saturday, Oct. 12. Taking place in the Auditorium Black Box Theatre at 9 p.m., the 50s themed event will feature a new game show format different from past SUU Lives.
“It is an improv variety game show, so every month it’s gonna be different performances, different games, different improv jokes,” said Second Studio co-Showcase Director Rockwell MacGillivray.
MacGillivray and his co-director Taya Christiansen applied for the position as a duo, knowing from the beginning that they wanted to change the structure of the event.
“We want to make something that is fun for people to watch, as well as fun to be in and fun to perform in,” said MacGillivray. Both MacGillivray and Christiansen wanted to focus the event more on audience participation than it had been in the past, especially to cater toward freshmen in the department.
Though MacGillivray and Christiansen applied as a duo, the full showcase team is a trio that is completed by Showcase Manager Shay Wilkey. Wilkey, who is serving on the Second Studio board for the second year, handles the technical aspects of the show and of any other showcases put on by the team.
“‘SUU Live’ would be absolutely nothing without Shay Wilkey, because Shay Wilkey is the one that is, lovingly, making sure everything actually happens,” said MacGillivray.
All three members of the team are friends outside of their roles within Second Studio, something that has contributed to their approach on the job.
“Working with Rockwell has been great. I feel like we are very good at communicating to each other our goals and what we want and what we need to do,” said Christiansen. “We have very different roles in what we do and how we are going forward with hosting these events, and I think we are both creative enough and spontaneous enough to just kind of go with any dumb bits and stupid ideas that we have.”
“SUU Live” is the first actual theatrical project that Wilkey and MacGillivray have worked on together, but they have both performed with Christiansen.
“Taya is my saving grace, in terms of knowing when to be sensible about things and being like, ‘hey, that is a really awesome, cool idea, really brave. There’s no way we can make that happen,’” said Wilkey.
Tickets for “SUU Live” cost $3, which goes to supporting Second Studio’s ability to continue showcasing quality theatre.
“My goal is that if somebody comes to an ‘SUU Live,’ they will want to come back to every further [one…],” said MacGillivray. “…This is the closest to “Glee” your real life will ever get.”
Author: Tessa Cheshire
Photos Courtesy of Second Studio
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