Last month, Shadowbox Live, a community theater, finished their rendering of the musical, “Chicago.” The theater, located on 503 S. Front St., has three Otterbein staff and alumni assisting in this production.
Shadowbox Live was first created in 1988 as a small production house for monthly shows. Over time, the theatrical company evolved into a mixture of sketch comedy, theater and live musical performances due to its overwhelming success. When Shadowbox Live moved from Easton Towne Center to their new downtown Columbus location, several Otterbein alumni followed and got the chance to hone their talents, finding full-time work with the theater company. Even Otterbein’s own professor of lighting and scenic design Rob Johnson got the chance to help create the sets for Shadowbox’s “Chicago.”
“Steve (Guyer, co-founder of Shadowbox) knew the reputation of Otterbein’s theater program at that time and approached me asking if I would like to design a set for us when we move to our new theatre downtown,” Johnson said. “I said sure.”
Currently, Johnson is scheduled to return working with Shadowbox Live on another project in the near future, but the title has not been released.
After being asked to be the set designer for the production, Johnson soon found out he would be working with his former student, Andy Baker, who would be the lighting director. Baker, a 2009 Otterbein graduate with a degree in theatre design and technology, was, at the time, a full-time employee of Shadowbox Live. The design for the production was created in three weeks, but the entire set was made in one weekend by Johnson, Baker, Shadowbox’s technical director and Otterbein student Kelly Ganley.
“Getting a chance to get to work with him again was amazing,” Baker said. “Rob is a true collaborator and talented designer, so working with him on this project was a great experience. I am looking forward to working with him again this summer and hopefully more in the future.”
Baker no longer works for the company but is working as a consultant and an outside freelance designer.
Another alum, Tom Cardinal, has also been involved with Shadowbox Live since attending Otterbein. Soon after graduating in 1992 with a degree in theatre, Cardinal was convinced to go audition for Shadowbox Theater, which was its title at the time, by a fellow classmate and was hired soon after.
Since working there, Cardinal has played numerous roles at the company from actor to book keeper to the backstage manager.
“What I learned at Otterbein it really helped me understand that you can’t always be the star, you really have to work for it,” Cardinal said. “So when I got to Shadowbox, I finally learned that sometimes you gotta work at where you need to be.”
Cardinal is still working with Shadowbox as a full-time employee.
