Since its inception in 1946, The Black Hills Playhouse (BHP) has always strived to create an inclusive performing arts experience as well as serve as a leader in theatre education. For almost 80 years the organization has provided high-quality productions and expanded to offer year-round education programs that reach throughout the entire state and beyond!
Fallon Podrazik grew up over the border in Wyoming. As a child, she performed in one or two plays in children’s theatre, but eventually moved on to sports and outdoor activities. It wasn’t until high school that Fallon rediscovered her love and passion for the art of performance and theatre.
She says, “As I went into my sophomore year, I found myself being more enamored with the technical side.” Shared Fallon.
This fascination with the technical side of theatre set her on a path to grow her skills behind the scenes.
“By my junior year, I was on most run crews at my old high school and began volunteering around town as a technician,” Fallon adds. She has helped with shows at Casper College and at the State III Community Theatre.
After graduation, Fallon decided that theatre was something she wanted to keep in her future and pursued her education at Wyoming State for lighting and scenic design.
After gaining hands-on experience with volunteer work, Fallon decided to go one step further. She auditioned and was accepted into the Sargent Conservatory of Theater Arts at
Webster University. Currently, Fallon is working toward her MFA at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in scenic design.
Fallon smiles, “I find myself constantly fascinated with how the environment and world we build can help influence a character and push the plot forward. The world we create is like a performer you see on stage, with their own unique story to tell.”
One of the professors Fallon is studying under recommended the Black Hills Playhouse as an opportunity to grow. Making her way back west, Fallon is working at the Playhouse as a paint charge this season. She hopes to gain a better understanding of her role as a leader and expand her overall skills as a painter throughout each set design requirements.
Fallon says she’s already picked up on one or two new techniques, and she truly enjoys the community at BHP. “We are all encouraged to work together to achieve the same goal,” she shares.
On the other side of the theatre, there are the actors and actresses.
Born and raised in Rapid City, Deirdre Martin had an earlier introduction to The Black Hills Playhouse. She attended her first show, A Year with Frog and Toad, at just three years old.
“My family and I still reminisce about how awesome it was to eat cookies that were thrown into the audience as a part of the show,” Deirdre explains.
At the age of five, Deirdre performed in her first play at the Rapid City Journey. As long as she can remember theatre, singing, dancing, etc. have been a part of her life.
Later on, in 2016, BHP offered its first junior camp which both Deirdre and her older sister registered to attend.
“It was life-changing!" said Deidre, "Campers were bussed to the Playhouse campus to watch a show, and take a tour of the tech shops, rehearsal spaces, and I had never had more fun in my life.” It was that day that she knew someday she would come to work at The Black Hills Playhouse.
This summer is her second as an actor intern while she enters her junior year at the University of Northern Colorado in the fall. Pursuing a degree in musical theatre with a minor in dance as well as a certificate in arts entrepreneurship–simply put, Deirdre is living her dream.
“Not only am I gaining valuable experience as an actress at BHP, but I am learning about all facets of the industry,” Deirdre starts. “For example, I was assigned to be the assistant stage manager for last summer’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone even though I had never stage managed before.”
This experience has helped her expand her skillset and really grow as an actress altogether. Deirdre also mentions the importance of the community at BHP. She says it is just one of the beautiful perks of the job, and she always leaves the summer with amazing friends for life.
This summer at the playhouse, The Play That Goes Wrong and Disney's The Little Mermaid were the first two shows of Season 78. Closing out the season are The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (ages 16+ recommended) which runs from July 21 - August 4, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (ages 16+ recommended) running August 11 - 17.
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