Jon Lauck wears a lot of hats.

A native of rural Madison, Lauck graduated from SDSU in 1993 with degrees in history and political science. He was a columnist for The Collegian from 1990-93. After graduating from SDSU, Lauck then attended graduate school at the University of Iowa for a master’s degree in history.

Lauck then taught history classes at SDSU from 2003-2005, including a History of South Dakota class that inspired him to write his recently-released book, Prairie Republic: The Political Culture of Dakota Territory.

“This is their story; this is the reason we are the way we are; this is their defining moment,” Lauck said.

Although Lauck said he didn’t think he’d be a writer when he was younger, he’d always liked history. Then, when he got to graduate school, he said people all over were writing books, which gave him the idea to have his dissertation published as a book. His published works include Daschle vs. Thune: Anatomy of a High-Plains Senate Race and American Agriculture and the Problem of Monopoly.

“I think it could be said that it’s getting easier to do research because of the Internet,” Lauck said. “This made it much easier for people not located near big research centers to do research.”

Lauck is also a lawyer and currently serves as senior adviser to Sen. John Thune. He received his law degree from the University of Minnesota in 2000.

“I’m just another SDSU grad out there active in the world,” Lauck said.

Lauck said he was inspired to write Prairie Republic after he began doing research on South Dakota for the South Dakota history class he was supposed to teach. Unfortunately, he was only able to find one book about South Dakota history, and suspected even that one was flawed.

“I thought, “We really need to revise that book,’” Lauck said. “It was definitely time for a new book on Dakota Territory.”

A panel on the book was held during the 42nd Annual Dakota Conference on the Northern Plains at Augustana College in Sioux Falls April 24. Present at the panel were, among others, retired SDSU history professor John E. Miller and Augie history professor Michael Mullin.

“(Lauck) was one of our star graduates, for sure,” Miller said. Miller was LauProxy-Connection: keep-aliveCache-Control: max-age=0

‘s adviser during his undergrad career.

According to Miller, the book focuses on South Dakota’s political culture during the decade before statehood in the 1880s. To research the book, Lauck said he spent a lot of time at the State Historical Society in Pierre, Augustana College, the North Dakota state archives in Bismarck and even the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

“It’s an extremely deeply-researched book,” Miller said. “…in the broadest sense, this book is full of ideas and concepts and food for thought.”

Mullin said he was hopeful that the book would get good reviews.

“It’s the first major work on that period in 50 years,” Mullin said. “I think scholars will be happy to have another vision of the history of South Dakota.”

“He’s a revisionist,” Miller said. “He’s revising our understanding of the past.”

Lauck’s future plans include writing more books, including a history of the United States from 2000-2010, tentatively titled “The “00s.”

“It’s been a fascinating decade,” Lauck said.

I first heard about the game Dragon Age: Origins, an RPG produced by Bioware, shortly before its release in early November 2009, after the Penny Arcade webcomic did a series of comics based on the game. I subsequently decided to purchase the game when it was released and proceeded to play it for about a month straight. Origins was one of the best-reviewed games of 2009 and won multiple awards.

The game follows the story of the Grey Wardens saving their country of Ferelden from marauding evildoers. The player’s actions can be “good” or “evil” although there isn’t a real alignment system per se. Actions taken in the game affect the game’s epilogues and what happens after the game ends.

The game has a very well-developed backstory that is told through codexes that are collected throughout the game. In addition, two novels penned by Dragon Age’s head writer, David Gaider, explain some of the events that take place prior to the start of the game.

An expansion, Dragon Age: Awakening was released on March 16 and in some cases earned even better reviews than Origins did.

Dragon Age: Awakening picks up six months after the conclusion of Origins. Players can either import a character they played in Origins or create a new Grey Warden character from Ferelden’s neighboring country of Orlais. The story focuses on the player character’s efforts to rebuild the Grey Wardens in Ferelden and investigate strange occurrences in Amaranthine, an area located in the northeast part of Ferelden.

I really enjoyed playing Origins, so I was definitely looking forward to playing this game. However, I didn’t buy it right away because its purchase price of $40 seemed a little high for an expansion that was advertised as being 20 hours long, as compared to the original game which is about 60 hours long. Now that I’ve played the game, though, I do think it was worth the purchase price. This is Dragon Age, so there are a lot of things to discover and the expansion will definitely have replay value because I still need to play through it on my other good character as well as my evil character, who isn’t finished with the original game yet.

As for the game’s story, if you’ve read David Gaider’s Dragon Age novel The Calling, you’ll recognize some of the characters that appear (Hint: The Architect). The story seems just as well-developed as the rest of the Dragon Age universe. I was happy to see that the exploration aspect of the game was retained from Origins – you pretty much have to run around holding the tabProxy-Connection: keep-aliveCache-Control: max-age=0

ey continuously in order to avoid missing anything important.

Only one of the party members from Origins appears in Awakening, which disappointed me more than I thought it would. I spent the entire expansion wondering where Alistair was. One of the new party members, a mage named Anders, seems to be intended as an Alistair replacement, but nothing could replace my favorite, goofy Grey Warden.

I was also disappointed by the removal of the party camp and the modification of the party interaction system. In Origins, the party camp served as a place to hang out, have your weapons enchanted or chat with other party members while trying to become friends with them. In addition, you could talk to your party members at any time in other areas of the game to have conversations.

In Awakening, Vigil’s Keep serves as the party camp but it just didn’t feel the same. In addition, conversations with party members couldn’t be initiated unless I was in Vigil’s Keep or found one of the many conversation items scattered around Amaranthine. For instance, when I visited the city of Amaranthine without a certain party member with me, holding tab didn’t reveal anything useful in regards to conversation items. When I went back to Amaranthine with the party member with me, holding tab revealed a tree I could click to start a conversation with her. When you’re used to being able to just click on someone anywhere to talk to them, it’s a little frustrating.

There also aren’t any romances in Awakening, which makes the approval system a little moot. Not that there was anyone I would have wanted to have a romance with anyway, but it might frustrate players who liked Origins’s romances.

All in all, I really enjoyed playing this expansion. It had plenty of hilarious moments, as did Origins, and I eagerly anticipate further installments in the series.

before they are assigned to students.

The drawings for the animals took place in February; students began working with their animals a maximum of three weeks before Little I depending on the species of animal, said Johnson.

“Students do everything from the animal out in the pasture to the animal in the show ring,” Johnson said.

Students showing animals in the fitting competitions are judged on their animals’ cleanliness, clipping of hair or trimming of wool.

In the showmanship competitions, students are judged on how well they show off their animals. Individuals with backgrounds in judging animals are hired to do the actual animal judging, with an emphasis on trying to get SDSU alumni, Johnson said.

“We hire judges that are experts and that are qualified to judge; people that judge different livestock shows on a routine basis,” Johnson said.

As for the judging contests, executive council member Staci Anderson said there are a variety of categories for the students to participate in.

“There’s a lot of judging for the high school events; marketing crops, livestock, the different species in livestock, so there’s a lot of different stuff even the high schoolers can get involved in,” Anderson said.

Other judging categories include floriculture, meat evaluation and dairy products.

Johnson, a senior agricultural business and agricultural and resource economics major, has been working all year with the rest of Little I’s 100-plus staff members to make sure all the elements of the event go smoothly.

“It’s a huge responsibility; it’s the largest event of its kind in the nation,” Johnson said. This is her fifth year of participation with Little I.

Last year she was assistant manager of the event and she showed livestock the two years before that, as well as participating in the judging contest in high school.

Although Little I is primarily organized by students from the College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences, students from any college can be involved in the event.

No prior experience is necessary for most of the animal showing competitions. Novice divisions are available for all of the animal species except horse, for safety reasons, said Johnson.

“Anybody that wants to be involved (can be),” Anderson said. “You don’t have to be a producer by any means.”

Nancy Wheeler, 63, longtime teacher and theatre director at SDSU, died of cancer on Jan. 26, but her legacy at SDSU will live on.

Wheeler had been battling cancer since 2006.

Originally from Montrose, S.D., Wheeler went to college at Dakota State University in Madison, S.D., formerly known as General Beadle State College. One of her classmates and friends there was Ray Peterson, assistant professor and director of theatre at SDSU.

“We had similar backgrounds, (and) were both very active in all kinds of activities ? so our paths crossed a lot and I got to know Nancy very well,” Peterson said.

After Wheeler graduated from DSU, she began working at O’Gorman High School in Sioux Falls as a speech and theatre teacher. She also served as a judge at many state competitive theatre functions. Peterson was already working for SDSU at that time and was involved in judging speech and theatre activities. Peterson said it was clear from the beginning that Wheeler’s students were very talented.

“She certainly is credited with having built the foundation for what has become a very, very strong program,” Peterson said.

Jim Johnson, professor emeritus of communication studies and theatre at SDSU, also knew Wheeler in the early days of her career, serving as one of her teachers at DSU.

“It’s tough to lose a dear friend; she started out as a student with me in 1963 and we’ve been friends for 45 years,” Johnson said. “It’s hard to give that up.”

Following 10 years at O’Gorman, Wheeler accepted a graduate assistantship at SDSU. She immediately became Company Manager for Prairie Repertory Theatre, a position Peterson said she originated. After she received her master’s degree, Wheeler was hired as a full-time instructor.

In addition to teaching, Wheeler also directed plays for both SDSU and Prairie Rep. She directed 22 plays for SDSU and 26 plays for Prairie Rep. During her tenure at State, Wheeler was known for her kindness and her willingness to put students first.

“She took a risk on me as a sophomore cast in one of her shows?and gave me an awesome part, and I can never repay her,” senior theatre major Allison Weiland said. “I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing right now if it wasn’t for her.”

Wheeler was also known for her ability to ‘mother’ her students, Peterson said.

“You might say she was a counselor on the side because she did really care,” Peterson said. “If a student had a problem they could always go to Nancy.”

In 2006, Wheeler was diagnosed with cancer, Peterson said.

“She fought a hard battle; she was not about to give up,” Peterson said. “She went through every kind of treatment imaginable.”

Johnson said Wheeler was always positive about the future and was always looking ahead. She was especially looking forward to the upcoming summer because Prairie Rep. is planning its 40th anniversary celebration, he said.

“I thought she would see that milestone, but it became too much for her,” Johnson said.

“She fought a good fight right up to the end, there’s no question about it, but one’s body can only take so much, and she knew that,” Peterson said.

Wheeler died in hospice care on Jan. 25. Her funeral took place Feb. 1 at St. Michael’s Parish in Sioux Falls. Johnson estimated about 200 of Wheeler’s former students attended the funeral, as well as many teachers and SDSU staff members.

“She will be missed and treasured, and I don’t think there can ever be another Nancy Wheeler,” Weiland said.

Peterson said Wheeler brought a lot to SDSU because of her passion for teaching and would be remembered for having directed some of SDSU’s great work. He said Wheeler’s legacy would live on through her students and the work they are doing in the classroom and on the stage.

“I’ll always remember her, and she left a legacy that will be remembered,” Johnson said.

Students move through the city of Brookings every year with each new class at SDSU, but Larson Hill remains a favorite spot to go sledding. As a lifelong resident of Brookings, I have always associated the hill with downhill sledding and the bloody aftermath of said sledding activities. While I personally have only been sledding there a few times, it was a popular place for my older brothers and their friends to go sledding back in the day, and I do have good memories of activities surrounding it.

As for sledding itself, I remember an incident involving my brother John sledding down the hill at a high rate of speed and almost hitting the fence at the bottom of the hill. His sled may or may not have tipped over in his attempts to avoid impact. Of course, such things seem more perilous when you’re 8 compared to when you’re 23, but it was funny nonetheless.

John, an SDSU alumnus, also remembered the days before barriers were put up at the bottom of the hill to prevent sledders from sliding into the street. In those days, you could slide down the east side of the hill and go across the street or even farther if you were traveling fast enough, which no doubt put the fear of God into more than one intrepid sledder or even a few drivers. This inevitably led to contests to see who could slide the furthest, which is about the time the city started piling up snow at the bottom of the hill to keep people from sliding into the street. John also recalled the time our father pushed him down the hill and right into a tree (on a sled) when he was about 3. Ah, memories.

My other brother, Chris, who graduated from SDSU in 2007, also had fond memories of “crazy” exploits at Larson Hill. He mentioned watching multiple people piled on tractor tubes to go down the hill. Some even slid down in giant cardboard boxes.

“After it was worn down and really icy, you could slide down on just about anything,” Chris said. “One time we pushed a picnic table up to the top and we all rode the picnic table down the hill.” However, the table didn’t slide very well, he said, because there were three or four people riding on it and it kept digging into the ice, or possibly because the designers didn’t have downhill sledding in mind when they built it. He even slid down the hill on nothing but his boots once because it was so icy.

I do have fond memories of visiting Larson Park at other times. My crowning achievement at Larson Hill took place in the spring of 2001. During a high school gym class outing to the park, I managed to ride my bike all the way up the hill without stopping – a hard feat at the time since the east side of the hill is fairly steep compared to the west side. Of course, my enjoyment of that incident may be lessened slightly by the fact that my bike was stolen a day or two later, but I digress. I’d tried riding up the hill without stopping multiple times before with friends, but was never successful until that warm spring day. I never found my stolen bike, though.

Chris topped that achievement easily, however – one spring he and three of his friends actually drove a car over Larson Hill, probably mystifying later passersby who saw the tire tracks.

Larson Hill, popular sledding locale for children and college students everywhere, was formerly the city landfill before it was covered over and turned into a park in ages past. That’s right – each time you coast down its snowy slope, you could be sliding over someone’s trashed refrigerator, broken ceiling fan or discarded 8-track player. Keep that in mind should you ever decide you want to dig a hole to China … at least in that part of town.

Las Vegas’s economic state was the subject of this year’s Economics Club fall trip. The “Sin City” has been estimated by some experts to have been hit the hardest during the country’s current economic recession.

The trip, which took place in November, included visits to such places as the Hoover Dam, the headquarters of Allegiant Air and the headquarters of R&R Partners, the advertising agency responsible for the “What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas” ad campaign.

The Economics Club’s adviser Carol Cumber came up with the idea for the trip, which was attended by 19 students, Cumber and a chaperone.

“What we tried to do was combine both the academic and the social,” Cumber said. “Some of the things we did was always to try to tie it back to our majors.”

During each visit, the students talked with business leaders and other administrators about economic factors influencing Las Vegas. Amber Anderson, Economics Club president and economics graduate student, said the trip was especially informative since Las Vegas has been hit hard by the recession.

“They’re the ones that were hit the most and were expected to come out of the recession last,” Anderson said. “It was very interesting.”

Cumber said she was able to secure grant money for the trip through a Chicoine Family Excellence in Economics grant, as well as other grants. The funds helped lower the cost of each student’s trip to $300, which included transportation costs, lodging, events and most meals.

“There was a ton of stuff included in this small price, so that was an advantage for us poor college students,” Anderson said.

The trip was a valuable experience because it was very informative and provided students with an opportunity to reach out to potential employers, Anderson said. The students were also able to get to know each other on the trip.

“It was just cool to network with other students and make some friends,” said Danielle Anderson, a junior business economics major.

All in all, though, the trip was a successful and worthwhile one according to the club.

“It’s one thing to read about something in a textbook; it’s another thing to experience it,” Cumber said.

SDSU has had several charity and service-learning projects in the works lately, with one more still to come this summer.

One project, called the ABC Project and spearheaded by Doug Martin, a senior political science and global studies major, is a trip to Costa Rica that is tentatively scheduled for June 2010. Martin and a group of SDSU students plan to drive a bus from South Dakota to San Jose, Costa Rica, making stops in Mexico and Guatemala to help people in need.

“It’s always a good place to direct your energy,” Martin said.

The students originally wanted to make the trip during this year’s winter break but decided to move the trip back to give them more planning time, Martin said.

“We’ll be able to make a much greater impact if we give it some more time,” Martin said.

The bus, which will be provided by a longtime friend of Martin’s, will be loaded with donated items, such as clothing, food and toiletries for people in need.

The project came about after the bus’s owner decided to put together a road trip to Central America and turn it into a service project because of all the extra room on the bus, Martin said.

“It’s been continually growing and expanding,” Martin said.

The group will be working with the nonprofit organization BorderLinks’s food security division called the House of Sympathy. They are also looking for other Central America-based organizations in need of volunteers or donations.

Due to limited space on the bus, about seven students plan on going on the trip, but Martin said the group is thinking about taking a second vehicle so more people can go.

“It’s still open as to how many people will end up going,” Martin said.

The students have to pay for the trip out of their own pockets. They started fundraising last weekend by selling hot chocolate from their bus in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

The group is in the process of setting up a charitable account in Brookings so people can make donations. Money raised from the account will be given to the organizations the group is working with.

One service-learning project that recently took place is the student health fair that was put on at Deubrook High School by nine students in SEED 450, a class for teaching reading in secondary eduation.

The fair, which took place on Nov. 23 from 9 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., was organized by students in an effort to provide a public service.

“It was an opportunity to get involved with the schools,” said Amanda Knutson, a senior physical education and teaching education major.

Fourteen groups had booths at the health fair, including the SDSU nursing and athletic training departments, ROTC, a County Extension nutrition booth and Truth 4 Youth.

“It was the first time Deubrook has had a health fair in quite some time,” Knutson said.

The students decided to do the health fair after instructor Mary Moeller asked them to come up with a public service project and suggested it, Knutson said.

“We thought of interactive ways that we could get knowledge to the students,” Knutson said.

The students originally wanted to hold the health fair at Brookings High School, but switched to Deubrook because two of the students were already student teachers there and scheduling conflicts prevented them from staying in Brookings.

Knutson said the health fair was a success and Deubrook was interested in having the health fair again.

“We thought it was productive all around,” Knutson said.

But the Jackrabbits’ charitable efforts do not stop there. On Nov. 25, another group of SEED 450 held a music fair at Camelot Intermediate School. Senior music education major Emily Humke said nine SDSU students were involved with the music fair.

“It was a way to bring things we were learning into the fifth-grade classroom,” Humke said.

Humke and the other students chose five areas – the continents of Africa and North America, as well as India, China and Australia – and brought instruments from those areas for students to see.

Students were able to sing songs from the different locations and listen to children’s books about the different areas. The fair was spread across five classrooms, with students rotating into each room to learn about the music.

Some of the instruments used for the African countries included hand drums, shakers and double bells.

The children had the opportunity to play some of the instruments and learn the rhythm patterns of the drums.

Humke said the music fair was a success with the children, with around 400 attending.

“We got a lot of really good feedback from the kids,” Humke said. “They seemed to really enjoy the other countries.

“It was really fun to see the kids get excited,” she said. “I think it was a great experience.”

A well-known charity project in Brookings is Project Joy. Formerly known as the Angel Tree, Project Joy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping disadvantaged families in Brookings County receive Christmas gifts.

“The community is unbelievable,” said committee member Cara Beers. “This community gives so much to so many people.”

During the Christmas season, Project Joy workers set up a “store” where parents in the program can pick out gifts for their children and have them wrapped, according to Beers.

To be in the program, parents must be on some type of assistance, such as WIC, and apply to the program.

According to its Web site, last year Project Joy procured gifts for 450 children. This year, each child in the program will receive a hygiene kit as well.

“It’s very neat to see how the community pulls together,” Beers said.

SDSU students can prepare for some entertainment this week as the Prairie Repertory Theatre brings its summer production of Godspell to Doner Auditorium for a two-day run.

The show, a 1970 musical by Steven Schwartz, opened in Brookings on June 10 and Brandon, S.D., on July 26. It uses a mix of music and comedy to deliver parables of Jesus as well as the Gospel according to Matthew.

“The music is terrific,” said show director J.D. Ackman.

Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 3 and 4 and admission is free with Student ID. Godspell features a cast of 10, including faculty member Billy Wilburn and junior communications and theatre major Steven Grovenberg.

“It’s a really challenging role but it’s a lot of fun at the same time,” said Grovenberg, who plays Jesus in the show. “It’s a portrayal of the story of Jesus.”

Ackman said the show was chosen because of its appeal to SDSU students and especially freshmen.

“We try to pick a show we think will have the greatest impact for students and introduce new students to what we do,” Ackman said.

Another thing Ackman said makes the show unique is its slapstick comedy, which is utilized in its portrayal of Jesus as having a sense of humor and being a very human person.

“It’s literally Jesus practicing what he preaches and the struggle he has with accepting what he knows has to happen,” Ackman said.

Part of Godspell’s appeal is its freedom regarding set and costume design, as its story does not specify where the action is set. It was originally staged as a hippie musical, but has been produced in many different styles on-and-off-Broadway and around the country.

“It offers the actor and director a lot of good staging possibilities,” Ackman said.

All of the design for Prairie Rep’s show – from the costumes to the sets to the lighting – was done by students. The show’s set is modeled after a war zone, which Ackman said is an attempt to make it look like something local people often see on TV.

“I think it’s some of the best work in each design area that we’ve had students do for a long time,” Ackman said.

Although Godspell does have a religious theme, Wilburn said he liked the show because “it’s not the kind of show that beats you over the head” with its message.

Wilburn does not usually appear in Prairie Rep. shows but said he enjoyed working on Godspell.

“It’s great to be in a show with students,” Wilburn said. “It’s been a wonderful experience for me.”

Ackman said some of the things he likes about the show are its similarities to the Bible and how closely its writers were able to make the story seem fresh and new despite taking place more than 2,000 years ago.

“It’s amazing how they managed to pull all the various parables [from Matthew],” Ackman said. “The show presents them in an approachable way.”

Grovenberg said he enjoyed his role because it was challenging and required a lot of energy to portray Jesus’ works, betrayal by Judas and eventual crucifixion.

“It was a lot of work as a performer; you have to put a lot into it,” Grovenberg said. “The cast is a great group of people and we just work really well together.”

#1.881562:1276283541.jpg:Godspell_05.1.jpg:Jesus (Steven Grovenburg) speaks words of wisdom to Ruthie (Ruthie Pottratz) during a performance of Godspell.:Courtesy Photo

If you like to draw, assistant professor Fatih Benzer’s upcoming figure drawing workshop might just be the class for you. The workshop, which takes place at the South Dakota Art Museum on Feb. 28 and March 1, will feature a live model, as well as a brief PowerPoint presentation by Benzer.

“Fatih is an excellent teacher and is really knowledgeable of figure drawing,” South Dakota Art Museum Curator of Exhibits John Rychtarik said.

No prior background in drawing is required to participate in the workshop. Some of the mediums that will be used include color pastels and black and white charcoal on color paper. Some materials will be provided, but not all.

“It’s going to be an intense crash course on figurative art and how to draw the figure,” Benzer said.

Barbara Wakeman, senior history and geographic information systems major, said that the workshop was definitely something she would be interested in attending.

“Fatih is a very creative teacher who enjoys teaching students the art of seeing,” Wakeman said.

As part of the workshop, Benzer will give demonstrations on proportion, shading and rendering. His demonstrations will attempt to give a better understanding of body language and how the body’s expressive qualities work.

“[Figure drawing] is the most respected and widely covered subject in the history of art,” Benzer said. “It has a long history.”

The PowerPoint presentation will detail some of the history of figurative art and include samples by old and new masters of figurative art, such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Pablo Picasso and David Hockney. Following the presentation there will be a discussion about the samples.

“It’s for people who would like to learn about figure drawing,” Benzer said.

Benzer teaches drawing, figure drawing and painting. His past collaborations with the art museum have included figure drawing and portraiture workshops. He was contacted by the South Dakota Art Museum a few weeks ago and was asked if he would be interested in teaching a figure drawing workshop. He had previously had a show at the art museum that Rychtarik said demonstrated his capabilities, which influenced the museum’s decision to ask Benzer to teach the workshop.

“[Fatih] is very talented,” Rychtarik said.

Since figure drawing is one of the classes Benzer teaches, he agreed to instruct the workshop.

The sessions will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 28 and 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on March 1. The session costs $60 for both days for SDSU students or members of the South Dakota Art Museum and $75 for non-students or non-SDAM members. Benzer said that 10 people had signed up for the class so far, and there is still room available in the sessions for anyone who is interested. For more information, call Dianne Hawks at 688-4313 to pre-register and obtain a list of supplies.

“It’s a great opportunity for people in the area to take figure drawing from Fatih,” Rychtarik said. “It’s a great opportunity for people to be able to do this. It’s very likely that we could have more (workshops) in the future.”

Michael Heuer is starting off his SDSU career with a bang. Heuer, who is in his first semester at SDSU, plays the role of Eddie in Blood Brothers.

Heuer said that while his role in Blood Brothers was completely new, he went in with the hope that it would turn out well.

“I just really wanted to be a part of it,” Heuer said.

Heuer first began working with people from SDSU when he was involved with the Prairie Repertory Theatre last summer. He played Albert Soady, Jr., in Escanaba in Love and also played Gideon, the youngest brother, in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Heuer, a freshman theatre speech communications major who grew up in Watertown, started out at Augustana College before deciding to transfer to SDSU this spring.

“It felt more like a family here,” Heuer said. “Augustana didn’t have that appeal.”

He has been doing theater since he was a freshman in high school and also attended the PRT camp when he was a junior in high school.

“I wanted to do theater ? because I was getting paid to do something I liked,” Heuer said.

Blood Brothers is the 17th play Heuer has been involved in, but he named his role in Escanaba in Love as one of his favorite roles to date.

“Having J.D. [Ackman] play my father was pretty intense,” Heuer said.

After graduating from SDSU, Heuer plans to attend graduate school and keep doing (non-musical) theater, possibly someplace like Minneapolis that is not too far from home.