w _J 0... 0 w 0... 0 ...... ROSS SHINES AND SPRING IN HOMECOMING SING 2018 MUSICAL WORDS Preslry ixot1 I I PHOTOS Abigail Cooper When freshman theatre major Maxwell Ross arrived to Harding, he was no stranger to the spotlight. He not only played the lead role in the Homecoming musical "Annie Get Your Gun," but he was also a 2018 Spring ing host. "I have been performing for as long as I can remember," Ross said. Ross discovered his love of performance in the third grade when his class took a trip to see "The I egend of Sleepy Hollow." "I can rill remember sitting in the audience and watching everyone perform on stage and thinking, 'my goodness, this is something I have to do,"' Ross said. Before coming to Harding, Ross auditioned for Producer of Theatre .indee Stockstill and Professor of Theatre and Musical Director Britt Lynn for Harding's Theatre cholarship, which be later received. few months later he was contacted by Lynn to audition for the role of Frank Butler in the musical. "When we met him and auditioned him for the theatre scholarship, we realized what a great fit he was for the role," Stockstill said. According to tockstill, there was some hesitation in casting a freshman as the lead, but they could not help but choose him. "He was the look, he was the sound, he was the energy of that character that we wanted for the show," Stockstill said. Earning the e roles as a freshman had been a blessing in many ways, according to Ross. "The theatre program has brought me into a family," Ross said. "[I'ml 12 hours from home, and mo ing from a big family to nothing, it made the move a !or easier and more Auid." Ross auditioned to be a pring Sing host in eptember 2017 and was hocked when he received the role. Steve 1-'rye, chairman of the theatre department, was impressed with Ross and wa excited to see what the future would hold. "He is a talentec.l young man," Frye said. "He is a genuine young man. He has a great heart for performance. We're going to be encouraging that and develot ing I hose skills and let him pursue that as much as he wants to." I Sophomore Emma Thurman, freshman Maxwell Ross and senior Anna Waldrum perform · "A'1nie Get Your Gun" on Oct. 20-21 2017, in the George S. Benson Auditorium during Homecoming weekend. The play was a production of Irvin Bertin and consisted of the fictionalization of the sharpshooter Annie Oakley played by freshman Allie Scott.// Photo by Abigail Cooper
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