We have a hard working group of individuals that make sure the shows here at Missouri State look as good as they are performed. One of these hard working individuals is Anna Hunt. She is the Scene Shop supervisor here at Missouri State University. Not only does she makes sure the sets are built for all the Mainstage shows, but she supervises student employees as well as THE 251 lab students. They are currently working on Pirates of Penzance, opening in March. It is becoming quite an elaborate set with an assortment of massive drops and several large scale wagons. It is a busy season down in the shop.
How did Anna end up here? Anna tried to stay away from theatre when she first arrived at Missouri State but theatre was not something Anna could give up. She graduated from Missouri State University with a BSED degree in Theatre Education. During her semesters here she worked in the scene shop as a student employee as well as during Tent Theatre where she was hired as a carpenter. Her and her husband then moved to Kansas City for a couple of years. As luck would have it, she moved back to Springfield and filled in as Properties Master for Tent Theatre. She was then hired as a temporary hire for Scene Shop Supervisor and the next year was officially hired. There is always something new happening in the shop, one of the perks according to Anna. Some days she works with paint and other days she works with metal. It varies from show to show, as well as day to day. Nonetheless, it makes everyone stay on their toes. Not only does Anna partake in some of technical aspects of theatre but she also partakes in other aspects. When she was student here, she acted in a couple of the Directing II One Acts. She also took the Puppetry Intersession this winter and constructed her own puppet. Anna has a variety of skills that she gets to utilize in the shop on any given day. Thanks to all the hard work everyone does in the shop, the Mainstage productions look fantastic.