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5 1) Alicia Mora plays during the Arts Showcase Concert at Homecoming and Family Weekend. 2) Tasha Deiser (left) plays Shelby Thorp and Brianna Anderson plays Percy Talbott in the fall production of the musical The Spitfire Grill. 3) The 2017–18 Debate and Forensics team includes (back row, from left) Megan Kline, Katlyn Downey, Autumn Zimmerman, Josh Davis and (front row, from left) Katie Merrill, Dakota Yates, Cassity Morlan and Tanner Bowles. 4) Tina Butts plays the part of Amahl in the opera Amahl and the Night Visitors. 5) Rebecca Copley, director of vocal studies, sings with the choir during the Art Showcase Concert at Homecoming and Family Weekend. 6) Christian McQueen sings a solo during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day worship service. 7) Malik Swift paints en plein air in front of Pioneer Hall as part of his Painting I class.
Ben Waugh ’13
Theatre-Based Performance Artist, Colorado Front Range It was the first month of grad school, and in a room full of actors, only Ben Waugh knew how to program the light board and turn off the lights. A lot of colleges separate acting from the technical side of theatre, but Waugh learned both at Kansas Wesleyan. “I was very lucky I went to Wesleyan. If you were a theatre major, you had to make your own show as your final thesis project,” he said. “It’s something Wesleyan gave me that I have used exponentially.” Waugh’s career took root after completing his master’s degree at Naropa University in Boulder, CO. On any given weekend, he could be delighting an audience as a circus aerial performer; managing a technical production; acting with innovative troupes like Band of Toughs and Control Group Productions; or leading his own theatre company. His style pushes boundaries, bringing together diverse aspects of theatre and performing arts. “To me as a postmodernist, it’s just as valuable to make people question something or make them smile and laugh,” he said. Waugh’s company, The Great Perhaps Performance Collective, just received a large grant to produce a show in Boulder in September. The Great Migration, an original theatre piece, will feature stories from people who migrated across the Mexican border as children. Waugh and his team conducted the interviews and wrote the script. A college internship laid the foundation for Waugh’s business success. He spent two summers at the Salina Community Theatre, working under Wesleyan alum Shannon Garretson ’03. “It was a remarkable program that allowed me to see the business aspect of theatre,” Waugh said. Next up for this performing entrepreneur: teaching classes for up-and-coming performance artists. He also dreams of buying rehearsal space that young professionals can rent for a discount.