Cedars, January 2019

January 2019 16 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT by Shelby McGuire For five senior theatre majors, their Cedarville educations are almost complete. Before the curtains close on their time as students acting in university productions, they are each complet- ing one final production for their senior theater projects. Each senior chose a piece to direct and perform and made it their own. Emily Hunnemeyer Emily Hunnemeyer chose “Acting: The First Six Lessons” for her senior theatre project piece. She acted in and co-directed the piece, and she was also responsible for the artistic direction, concept development and the set design. The piece tells the story of a young girl and her journey to becoming a great actress. Hunnemeyer’s own acting journey started in kindergarten when she stepped on the theater stage for the first time. She performed in eight plays throughout her growing up years for the Messoula Children’s Theatre where she fell in love with the art of performing. She also pursued other performance arts such as ballet and choir. By the time she graduated high school in 2013, she was planning to move to New York, join a conservatory and pursue a career on Broadway. Her parents, however, encouraged her to stay home and work for a few years before she moved out on her own. During that time, Hunnemeyer went through a series of rejections and disappointments at auditions. She put her theater dreams on the back burner for a few years and worked full-time in ministry and attended community college. One day on campus, her heart for theater was suddenly resuscitated when she was cast as Mary Poppins in her school’s produc- tion. She said that through her experience of playing that role, she learned how to use theater as ministry and bring glory to God with her gifts. The following year after that performance, she came to Cedarville to study theatre. Hunnemeyer plans to perform for a full year after graduation, and long-term, she hopes to one day start her own children’s the- ater. Take a Bow Senior theatre majors express themselves through final productions Natalia Kirychuk Natalia Kirychuk was the first American producer and director for the Australian show “e-baby” for its American premier last October. This two-woman show is story about surrogacy and presents a deep look at the diversity of motherhood. Kirychuk was drawn to the show because motherhood is a very precious topic to her, and she feels that it is her ultimate calling in life. Kirychuk first felt a passion for the profession of acting when her family subscribed to Netflix when she was 12 years old. After watching the Disney movie “Sky High” with her family, she realized that the characters in movies were real people who were acting out parts. Her very next thought was that actors are real people who need to hear about Jesus. She wrote down all of the names in the credits in a notebook and prayed through the list of names before bed every night. She continued to do this and added more names as she watched more movies. Soon, she felt inspired that she could do more than pray for these people, and she desired to pursue a career where she could interact with performers and share the gospel with them. This calling lead Kirychuk to the theatre program at Cedarville. She plans to pursue a career in public relations in the enter- tainment industry where she will have opportunities to share the gospel with entertainment professionals. After graduation, she plans to move to Florida where she will be seeking a public relations position in the entertainment hub of Orlando. Photo by Alex St. Onge Photo by Aimee Auclair Hill