Directing Dottie

Stilettos, swearing and singing. To the untrained eye, walking into Miller Gym during a rehearsal of the third annual production of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” can induce a wave of immense confusion. However among this scene of chaos is senior theater and creative writing major, Dottie Pratt, who is patiently watching as the rehearsal unfolds—acting as maestro to her orchestra of misfits.

“My parents did high school theatre and they always talked about the stories and ever since I was a little girl, I was in love with that idea,” Pratt said about her interest in theater. “It all sounded so awesome to me.”

AubrieSofala | gcsunade.com

Pratt directs the cast of Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Pratt has been participating in some form of performance art for 22 years—dating back to her early childhood love of dance at the age of five. Pratt transferred into GCSU as a junior during Fall of 2007, from a 3 1/2 year stint of having theater completely cut out of her life.

“I cut theater out of my life because it’s such a hard career. I wanted to see if that’s what I really wanted to do,” Pratt said.

After the 3 1/2 years, Pratt found that theater was inherently part of her and her future plans.

“I realized, I’m a miserable person. I don’t like my life right now. I’m going back and getting my bachelors in theatre,” Pratt said about her feelings during her life without theater. ” That’s what I’m going to do with my life.”

Pratt says she has no questions about what she wants to do with her life and knows that performing is her true passion, planning to pursue it to any measure.

During Pratt’s second year at GCSU, she added 15 productions to her résumé, one of which was the 2009 production of “The Smiles” in which she played the character of Edna, an elderly woman.

“I was in a scene right before intermission and my parents came to see the show. They were watching it and come intermission they were like ‘When’s Dottie coming out?’, they looked at the program and said, ‘That was her?!” Pratt said.

Pratt marks this memory as one of her proudest in her theater history, completely transforming herself into character—unrecognizable even to her parents.

“It fills me with happiness and joy to be entertaining audiences enough that they make verbal responses and I know they are paying attention,” Pratt said. “To keep their attention is the biggest compliment.”

Pratt was also the founder of the Clarke Street Glitter lips, the shadow cast which performs GCSU’s annual production of Rocky Horror Picture Show. Pratt decided in 2009 to bring “Rocky Horror Picture Show” to GCSU and it swiftly became tradition.

“I was in her first experience directing and ever since then I’ve just been in love with her,” Kat Lea, junior theater major said about Pratt. “She’s got one of the best directorial styles I’ve ever worked with.”

Pratt enjoys being in control but knows when to let performers have free reign—a style that Lea believes works.

“She expects a lot but it’s because she knows people are capable of it,” Lea said. “She also has a way of being respected without being feared.”

One of Pratt’s largest feats to overcome has been defeating her once shy demeanor.

“One of the things I’ve come to realize is, to be in theater and to be a performer is, you have to be shameless to be good,” Pratt said. “I had to work up to that, I was really shy growing up. Theatre helped me break out of that shell.”

Pratt also helps others break out of their shell, like Kristina Drew, freshman pre-psychology major, who plays Janet Weiss in the upcoming production of “Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

“I love her as a director. She’s helped me so much to grow as an actor,” Drew said.

Among everything Pratt has accomplished her one goal is to make a career out of her passion of theater. In the long run, she sees herself going into performing professionally and one day teaching at the college level.

Pratt says the most important part of her college experience has been finding out what she was meant to do in life—a feat she challenges others to do.

“Do what you love, please. The world would be a happier place if people just did what they loved,” Pratt said. “Screw the consequences.”

Posted by Matt Chambers on Nov 5 2010. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.