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| Peter Larkins | The Appalachian |
| “Marshall” Joe Walsh and “Deputy”
Marcus Riter survey the scene at Tweetsie Railroad. Riter
is an active member of the department of theatre and dance
at ASU. |
Instead of heading home this summer, Appalachian
students Marcus A. Riter and Mandi S. McCallister were thrown back
into time.
Every day, they recreated westerns with cowboys, Indians, hold-ups
and railroads.
“When I was kid, my two goals were to come Appalachian State
University and work at Tweetsie Railroad. Getting the job was a
dream come true,” Riter, a theater major from Statesville said.
Riter and McCallister are active in Appalachian’s department
of theatre and dance as well as Tweetsie Railroad productions. Both
said they gained different experiences from their work with Tweetsie.
“I am a stage manager at Tweetsie Railroad. Officially I was
the ‘Hopper and Porter’ stage manager, but I also did
the Palace and Clogging shows,” McCallister, a senior theatre
arts major from Lexington, Ky. said.
“Hopper and Porter” is the old tortoise and hare story
with a Tweetsie train twist.
The Palace is a musical review, including several different shows.
There are six cloggers with four different numbers for the audience,
McCallister said.
“I started working for the railroad in April, but I am on a
month break for the moment because I am stage manger for the upcoming
[department of theatre and dance performance], ‘A Piece of
My Heart,’” McCallister said.
McCallister said she took the Tweetsie job because she really wanted
to work in her field in a professional setting.
“I was really excited about the opportunity to learn. While
applying, they told me of the great opportunities I would have to
work with costumes and stage combat,” McCallister said.
McCallister said her average day at Tweetise starts at 9:45 a.m.
and ends at 3:30 p.m. Her day consists of four 15-minute shows,
meeting and greeting the audience, keeping children in the audience
under control and making sure everything runs smoothly.
“Normally, I feel really great about the show. It’s an
adorable show, but sometimes you have those kids that get rowdy,”
McCallister said.
McCallister said she learned many things she did not expect to,
like operating different types of light and sound boards, and aspects
of clogging shows.
“Stage managing is the hardest job in theater and I don’t
think anyone would dispute that,” McCallister said.
In contrast with McCallister’s job, Riter does not operate
behind the scenes, but is right in the middle of the show, acting
as a cowboy, Indian or train conductor.
“As a theater major, you just want to do stuff that’s
more outgoing. The job appealed to me because you get to be in character
all day entertaining people. Plus, I get to carry a gun,” Riter
said.
Riter said his day consists of signing autographs, entertaining
people on Main Street and then on the 45-minute train ride.
Riter said his job has reaffirmed that acting is the line of work
he wants to go into.
“Riter is always trying to improve his comedy and acting abilities.
He puts everything into his comedy act, always trying to think of
new jokes for it,” Josh M. Walker, a senior finance major from
Raleigh, said.
“In my lifetime, if I don’t make any money whatsoever,
as long as I am entertaining people and making people laugh that
is fulfilling enough for me,” Riter said.
After Riter gradates he hopes to start in stand-up comedy, and dreams
of eventually starring on Saturday Night Live. |
