.. Smiling for the camera, senior Rachel Filbeck sits on the Her– itage stage Dec . 1. The stage is a second home to Filbeck who has been involved in severa l Harding productions since her freshman year. Noah Darnell Senior Rachel Filbeck and May 2009 Graduate David Wa lton, perform in the Oct. 2008 musical "Oklahoma!" Filbeck played the part of Walton's Aun t El ler. Jeff Montgomery -g orn and raised in a missionary family in Thailand, senior Rachel Filbeck found many things to adjust t o when she came to the States to attend school at Hard– ing four years ago. One of the biggest transitions for Filbeck coming from Thailand to America was the difference in the ways people related to each other . "1 was used to communities who relied on each other to sur– vive," Filbeck said. "[In Thailand] you just d on't treat friend – ships as casually as you do here . " \VhiJe growing accustomed to a new culture from the one she had grown up in, there was one aspect that connected her two worlds : her love for drama. It was at the international school that she attended in Thailand where Filbeck first grew to love the stage , which only continued when she got to college and decided to major in theatre. "J saw a huge opportunity in the theatre world," Filbeck said. In addition to a number of Homecoming plays and student productions, Filbeck also participated in two drama organiza – tions on campus , Campus Players and Alpha Psi Omega, which allowed her and others interested in theatre to continue to be involved in something they loved . Campus Players was founded in 1924, while Alpha Psi Omega was founded on Harding's campus in the 1930s. CP/APO used their members ' talent s through many projects and services dur – ing the year. Each year, CP/APO organized a disaster drill as a service to the local emergency response teams. It also tested all aspects of the theatre department, from make - up and costumes to ac tors as well as tech crews. "The drill is a service to our students in nursing and para – medics as well as our local fire department and various othe r emergency based services," Filbeck said. "The drill includes a group of actors who play victims in some form of disaster that is 210 organizations simulated on campus . Each actor is given an injury to play out, and it's the jobs of those on the paramedic team to rescue the ac– tors. It ' s a good exper ience fo r all involved ." \Vhile anyone could join Campus Players or Alpha Psi Ome– ga, there were some restrictions. Both are national honors soci– eties. so they had to follow their guidelines. To join Alpha Psi O mega. students had to acquire ten points, perform 15 lines of Shakespeare , and present a five - minute tech – nical presentation . Campus Players had a few different require – ments. "To joi n Campus Players. you had to accumulate points by participating in theatre related activities, and perform a one– minute monologue," senior Sydney Clyde. vice president of APO and member of Campus Players said. CPIAPO offered members ways to sharpen their skills in the – atre through acting and techn ical work, but also let the members get close to others with similar interest. "It's a togetherness thing," said Clyde. "We get to plan things and have a grand old time with people we al r eady spend time with and since its open to anyone, not just majors or minors, we can bring many different groups together . This year we have a nursing major. a polit ical science major, an oral communica – tion major and many other [non-theatre] majors in our lovely little club . " Filbeck agreed that working with others through bo th theatre and the drama organizations was a key to her own accomplish – ments in theatre. "T heatre is [a] co llaborative art form ; no single person can do it by themselves ." Fi lbeck said. "My success is only a testimony to the success of those around me. We suppo rt each othe r and do what we can to see [each o tli"er] succeed. " Jen Gibson and Emily Hauptli
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