Ike Flitcraft- director
A Follies lover from his freshman year, Flitcraft knew he had to be involved in Follies. After auditioning for and getting a spot as a writer last year, his senior year came with the promotion from writer to director.
How did you get involved with Fall Follies?
At the time I discovered what Fall Follies was, I was on the brink of curing cancer. But when this far more noble cause fell into my lap, I elected to take the call and turn to campus comedy.
How do you think your personality comes through in the Follies?
I think that I was ambitious in the changes that I wanted to make, while still keeping the old stuff around. So I think that some of that ambition is going to translate in that the show is really fast paced and just moving from one thing to another. That was something, coming in, I wanted to do and I had so many ideas and I wanted to do so many things. The shows had a massive impact on me, for sure, just has given me identity in general. So I’m hoping while the show gets some identity and DNA from me that its not overwhelming and that’s the line I’ve been trying to skirt.
What do you love the most about Fall Follies?
Just the idea that this outlet is insane and that it exists. I was up in Chicago and no one had this kind of stuff. So its so crazy that this exists here, especially at Belmont. This is a crazy outlet for creatives who are into this sort of thing. I mean there’s so many mediums, there’s video and art and everything. So what I love most about it is the new people will be coming on, for me the best aspect of this show is going to be watching Hilary and Rob and Josh and Riley sitting in a room watching 1,000 people losing their minds at something that they wrote. So that’s what I love most about it is the ability for people to find this outlet.
What can students look forward to this year?
Characters, characters, characters. Just an onslaught of characters. I mean we’re still attacking the issues that are prominent on campus but we have also written these things that could work with or without Belmont. And the other thing is, and I don’t think I’ve been plugging this at all, I was planning on explaining this in my monologue. But this is why we’ve been doing the sort of Playbill and Broadway-Vaudeville theme, because this year, the 20th year of Follies, will be Fall Follies: the Musical. I will not tell you exactly how because that would give away jokes but I can say students can look forward to Fall Follies: the Musical.
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Eric Owens- head writer
Owens may not have the super power literally to step into other people’s shoes to experience their life, but the 21-year-old international business major has the real-life super power of keeping the laughs coming as a writer for Belmont University’s Fall Follies.
How did you get involved with Fall Follies?
When I was a sophomore, I started doing a lot of freelance crime fighting around campus. One day, Samuel L. Jackson showed up at my dorm-room door wearing an eyepatch and extended an offer for me to join “S.H.I.E.L.D.” I told him that I couldn’t because I saw a flyer that said Follies auditions were coming up.
It would have been too much to do “S.H.I.E.L.D.” and Follies.
How do you think your personality comes through in the Follies?
I’m the type of guy that questions everything and refuses to accept social norms as normal.
Colleges, especially Belmont, are pretty absurd places. I think I have a knack for writing satire that helps people take a step back and laugh at the ridiculous aspects of the culture they’ve found themselves spending every day in.
What do you love the most about it?
Follies brings together some of the most fun and most talented people on campus. Building a ridiculous comedy show is a great way to meet new people.
Don’t just take my word for it, though; try it for yourself.
Walk into a coffee shop sometime and shout that you would like to build a ridiculous comedy show. You’re sure to meet some new people.
What can students look forward to this year?
This year may be the most comedically jam-packed Follies in the show’s 20-year history. The show should be a solid two hours of fun.
I’d recommend carb-loading the night before.
Seriously though, we really focused on making the show fun for all classes. It has all the charm that caused us all to fall in love with the school as freshmen, but it’s also full of new comedy and satire that seniors, like me, should appreciate. Expect way more than just hipster, landscaping, and caf jokes this year.
It’s an extremely witty and well-produced production.
This article was written by Sam Denlinger and Gracie Helms.