Zachary Pettit, junior vocal music education major, has a passion for show choir and works with high school students doing show choir choreography. Having a love for song and dance, Pettit will be playing the role of Robert Martin in the upcoming Southern Theatre production of The Drowsy Chaperone.

When did you first take interest in theater?

I’ve always enjoyed performing. It kind of started doing little children’s musicals at church and then the school district – I went to Webb City for all of my schooling and they really fostered a love for musical theater there and so I’ve kind of  just always gotten to partake in that and I’ve always loved it.

How long have you been acting and what are some of the performances you have been in?

‘Cause I started back in little church days, probably since I was like five. The productions that I would consider real productions; in school we did Oliver, I was Oliver, The Music Man where I played Marcellus, Bye Bye Birdie I was Mr. MacAffee, Babes in Arms I was Valentine White, and then the most recent musical here, Chicago, I played Sergeant Fogarty and was a member of the ensemble.

What is your favorite role that you have played, and why?

I think probably my favorite role would be Mr. MacAffee from Bye Bye Birdie. He’s a little bit of a nut and he just like gets to overreact to everything. And so I got to play this kind of fatherly figure, which was kind of weird for me as a junior in high school, but I got to be overprotective and stand up on a big winged-back chair and throw a tantrum. It was just a lot of fun.

What is it like to play the role of Robert Martin in the upcoming production of The Drowsy Chaperone?

Not to boast of my own intellect, but it’s definitely different to think less, by thinking more about that. It’s kind of a hard mental state to get in to, to just kind of be a little bit ignorant to the world. He also has two fairly odd numbers in the show. The first is a very heavy tap dance … but playing him is very dynamic. It’s a lot of work but it’s fun.

What first inspired you to audition for The Drowsy Chaperone?

I’ve always loved musical theater; we don’t really have a lot of opportunities to do it here just because we only do one every other year. So I was definitely looking forward to this production even before we knew what it was going to be last year and then when we found out it was going to be The Drowsy Chaperone, I already owned the album and I loved the music, so I was really excited to actually be able to know what the entire plot was and so I just auditioned for it and was hoping to get in.

Do you ever feel nervous when you go into an audition?

Absolutely. I think if you weren’t nervous there would be something wrong with you. Unfortunately the nerves can either help you or hurt you, but I think the nerves definitely show that you care about the audition. 

Have you ever had a bad audition in the past?

Yes. I never really feel good about an audition just because it’s a very unsettling thing to not know the immediate results of that.

What kind of roles do you most like to portray on stage?

I enjoy comedic roles; I really feed off of audience laughter. And I also just recently have kind of found a passion for dancing, so I like roles that allow me to do that. That’s why I really like musical theater because it’s this culmination of singing, dancing and acting.

What role would you most like to play?

I would really love to be Donkey [from Shrek]. Donkey is normally portrayed by an African-American performer, but if I could pick any role I would definitely was to be Donkey. Or Elphaba in Wicked.

Who are some of your favorite actors/actresses, on stage or in film?

That’s a tough one. I would definitely concur with Sutton Foster, I definitely think she’s kind of become a very prominent performer in the musical theatre industry. I also really love just the voice of Aaron veit; he was recently in Les Mis, the movie, and then a lot of Broadway shows. As far as film is concerned … I really love Natalie Portman, I think she’s a very intelligent actress. I really can enjoy a performance from anybody, just because I’m not very hard to please.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

I definitely think inspiration can come from a lot of places. I push myself, personally, really hard. Sometimes that can push me up. I also really – once we’re into the performance – I really feed off of the audience, just because I feel musicals are very presentational, so there’s a pretty strong connection between the audience and the performer and I really enjoy that bond. And it’s because I love hearing them laugh, or hearing that dead silence at the perfect moment. I just think the audience really is helpful in that like transfer energy.

What do you like to do in your down time?

There’s not a lot of it, but I work as a professional show choir choreographer for several area high schools. Show choir, although it’s considered pretty lame by most people, it’s kind of where my passion lies. I really enjoy working with high schoolers, that’s what I want to do career-wise in the future, and so I do enjoy being able to go into high schools and work with kids, either choreographically and sometimes I get to work with them vocally, which helps me at least know that what I spend all of my life in school doing is paying off for the future. I also really love just being a bum and sitting at home a laying on the couch and watching TV. I love spending a day just doing nothing.