UPIKE Theatre students travel to Lexington to see musical
0Written By Sarah Hackworth
On Saturday, Jan. 21, theatre program director Kim Willard took a group of six theatre students to Lexington, Ky., to see the touring Off-Broadway production of Pippin the Musical, in which the ensemble cast tells a story of Pippin, a young prince who longs to find passion and adventure in his life. Students left early Saturday morning to travel to the well-known Lexington Opera House to see the magical performance. Students were fortunate to earn a talk-back session with an actor in the show, Joel Herzfeld, in which questions were asked about his background, how he got to where he was, and what the different processes were like. “I think it’s important for us to see professional works outside of Pikeville, and to see and interact with professional actors and understand that they are real people doing amazing things, and that we are also amazing people who have the potential to do amazing things. It just takes time and determination,” Willard said. Out of the group of students who participated in the trip, Mackenzie Fraley, freshman, enjoyed the time that was spent together. “My favorite part of this whole thing was being able to make memories with the amazing people who are involved with the theatre program, and for us to see how a professional musical works. Everything was beautiful, and I would love to do more trips like this because not only does it give us the opportunity to spend time together, it also gives us the opportunity to speak with professional actors, helping us see what we can do to help us get to where they are,” Fraley said. The group of students ended their trip by eating dinner at the well-known Shakespeare & Co. restaurant in Lexington.