In addition to his coursework this fall, Zachary Glasscock ’18 found himself up to his ears in three blind mice, the big bad wolf and a host of other fairytale characters.
The theatre major from Clarksville was making his directorial debut wrangling the 23-member cast of Shrek The Musical for Farmville’s Waterworks Players. Based on the animated Dreamworks movie that turns the world of fairytales upside down, Shrek is "much like the movie but with one big difference: There is a lot of singing and dancing,” said Glasscock, who was joined by four fellow Longwood students in the cast.
It was not only Glasscock’s first time directing but also the first time Waterworks had selected a Longwood student to take charge of a production. They knew what they were doing.
With more than 10 years of experience as an actor, dancer and choreographer, Glasscock is hardly a novice. His first performance, at age 10, was in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever for Clarksville Community Players. Since then he has been involved in well over half of the shows produced by Clarksville Community Theatre, serving as choreographer for nearly 20 productions. He also choreographed Legally Blonde for Waterworks last year.
Though surprised at being chosen—“I’m not used to being in the driver’s seat for the entire trip”—Glasscock happily took on the Shrek challenge, juggling the demands of his courses with several rehearsals each week.
“I’ve always loved performing,” he said. When we were children, my brothers and I would create skits from books and act them out.” Glasscock completed his theatre internship last summer with Theatre West Virginia in Beckley, where he performed in Footloose, Hatfields & McCoys and as King Louie in The Jungle Book KIDS. On campus, he played Pig Pen in Longwood Theatre’s spring production of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.
“I can’t imagine my life any other way,” said Glasscock of his experience at Longwood. He gives much credit to theatre faculty Lacy Klinger, his advisor, and Dr. Ronda Scarrow, who have kept him on track and provided unwavering support. “Ms. Scarrow was the first person to tell me, ‘You will not have any problem finding a job.’ That was great to hear.”
Like most actors, Glasscock would love to be on Broadway one day. “If that doesn’t happen, I’d like to be part of a national touring group,” he said. “I’m leaving my options open. I am happy to do anything from choreography to box office work."
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