Company Spotlight: Luke Johnson and Christine Casper
Luke Johnson, Actor/Guest Services/Company Management
Have you ever worked at the Festival before?
Yes, this will be my third year. I have worked in House Management and Ticket Office, and now as an actor and in Company Management.
Where’s your home base?
West Valley City, UT
What’s your education/training background?
I have one year left in my undergraduate training for a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre.
What brought you to your field and what keeps you doing your craft?
My older siblings dabbled in theatre and I saw all their shows growing up, so I always had a love for the theatre. Once I had the chance to perform myself, I took it; in concerts, plays, even playing pretend. Performing became an escape for me, from anxiety and insecurity; a safe vehicle for catharsis.
I love contributing to the creation of a new world with real characters and a compelling story.
An analogy: picture humanity as a pyramid. At the top of the pyramid, in the smallest portion, are the geniuses, inventors, and creators capable of original thought and pure inspiration.
At the bottom of the pyramid are the average Joes, the everyman, the common populace who inhabit and fill the world.
In the middle are the artists, storytellers, and performers. Their function is to transcend the top and bottom levels to bridge the gap, bringing the creative substance of the geniuses to the rest of the world.
That’s why I love what I do.
How will you spend your time off while here?
Sleeping. Haha! No, I love to spend time around all the beautiful nature that is so close to us. Hiking, biking, playing in the park, even just reading a book. Also, I love to spend time with the people I meet and the friends I make.
What does the Festival Experience mean to you?
The Festival Experience means artistic edification. It gives you the chance to see a good array of shows across the board, while inviting you to really become a part of Festival yourself. It means magic is real. It means dreams do come true. Mine did.
If it applies, do you have a favorite memory of working in the Adams Theatre?
The Adams Theatre holds an intrinsic magic and wonderment. My favorite memory is a repeated one: seeing that magic fill the audiences night after night.
If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
As a kid, I wanted to be Sticker Man, a hero of my own creation who could make stickers out of thin air. You’d be surprised how many uses stickers have in crime fighting, let alone decorating.
If you had a time machine, where would you like to visit?
I’d love to visit Ancient Greece and Rome. The philosophy, art, and culture is absolutely fascinating to me.
Christine Casper, Ticket Office
Have you ever worked at the Festival before?
This is my first year working for the festival.
Where’s your home base?
Dallas, TX
What’s your education/training background?
I am in my last year at SUU where I will be receiving a degree in Theatre Arts with a minor in Shakespeare Studies.
What brought you to your field and what keeps you doing your craft?
Everything comes back to theatre for me. No matter how many other things I tried, theatre is the only thing that stuck. It’s a beautiful thing when you have the opportunity to do what you love every day. Theatre is unique in that it develops as quickly as the human experience does and is a way of learning from each other.
How will you spend your time off while here?
I take long walks and hike whenever I can. That coupled with my hobby of iPhone photography makes for some lovely Instagram posts.
What does the Festival Experience mean to you?
I adore my friends and I have many who are performing in the shows this year. Seeing them onstage gives me some of the greatest joy I have ever known. Though I would like to work as a professional actor as well, their success means the world to me. The Utah Shakespeare Festival is a family. Anyone who works here can feel a sense of comradery in one way or another. I felt it even before I started working this year.
If it applies, do you have a favorite memory of working in the Adams Theatre?
I have not worked in the Adams Theatre for the festival yet.
If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
Telekinesis would allow me to manipulate things with my mind. This way I could get whoever makes the fudge to make me all the fudge I wanted. Reading minds is also a plus.
If you had a time machine, where would you like to visit?
I would want to be in the audience for Broadway’s first ever opening night of “A Chorus Line.” Nothing like that show had ever been done before, and the experience would be indescribably meaningful to me as a performer.
