ISU student takes part in major Ames production

Brandon Brockshus is about to experience his first Ames Community Theater show. With an important role in the now-opening musical “Urinetown,” the ISU student is making use of his internship for ISU Theatre.

Brandon grew up on a dairy farm in northwest Iowa and has been surrounded by theater all of his life. Interested in being on stage ever since performing roles like Aladdin in a children’s theater, Brandon has starred in numerous productions around the state, from shows in Milford, Iowa, to ensembles at Iowa State’s Veishea.

“I recently switched from chemistry to theater at ISU because of how much I enjoy acting,” Brockshus said. “When I was surfing the Internet for internships, I came across ACTORS and talked to the director of the show [Stan Rabe]. I kept contact with him until auditions, where I got the part of Hot Blades Harry,” Brockshus said.

“Harry is a poor person; quite the stand-out character. He frequently gets violent and always thrives on it,” he said. “It all has to do with the satire of depression among the characters’ social classes.”

In addition to his character’s lines, Brockshus said the stunt work and choreography took an impressive amount of work to get down. With various dances and songs being performed simultaneously, the difficulty of the show varies with the nature of each scene being carried out on the large stage. The songs of the show call upon many different classic productions of the past, from “Fiddler on the Roof” to “West Side Story.”

“The set that we perform on is pretty awesome. The central point of the stage is a rotating three-sided set piece that switches scenes effortlessly,” Brockshus said. There is also a platform that helps the cast in each scene.

Further continuing his theatrical interests, Brandon is set to perform in ISU Theatre’s “Noises Off” production later in the year.  “’Urinetown’ is going to be a lot of fun, and I strongly encourage students and families to come see it,” Brockshus said.