Drury University is home to a vast student body that are all intriguing, ambitious, individualistic, and are a delight to know. To showcase these varying personalities, the Mirror has created Panther Profiles, an outlet to showcase those within the campus, to share their memories and experiences at Drury University.

For this edition of The Mirror, the spotlight is on Instructor of Theatre and Drury alumni, Justin Gannaway. Gannaway has had an abundance of experiences with the Drury Theatre Department, both as a staff member and former student. One of Gannaway’s talents is with costuming designing.

“I fell in love with costume design in my first year at Drury University. One of my favorite professors at the time, Madison Spencer, exposed me to the world of costumes. She had dazzling tales about working as a key costumer for film and television. After hearing her stories, I knew this was an industry I wanted to work in. I assisted her on several shows, learning everything I could, and then designed a few on my own. After graduating from Drury University, I attended Indiana University and got my MFA in costume design. After receiving my MFA the position of Instructor of Theatre opened up here at Drury and I jumped at the chance teach in a program that I have so much love for.”

Gannaway recently worked on the theatre department’s most recent production, The Bourgeois Gentleman, which showcased in the Wilhoit Theatre from April 6th to April 9th.

“The costumes for Bourgeois Gentleman are based on the period silhouettes from the 1670’s. Bourgeois Gentleman is a comedy which means there is a lot of room for abstraction and silliness. The costumes aid in depicting a man who has all the money of a proper gentleman, but with none of the knowledge or refinement. This ‘would be gentleman’ doesn’t necessarily have a discerning eye, but he loves color and excess. Designing costumes for a production like this was incredibly fun because I could let my imagination run wild without fearing that the costumes would be ‘too much’.”

Out of the many experiences Gannaway has had, they would describe their favorite experience to be with the production from the fall of 2021, The Thanksgiving Play. Stating, “My favorite experience would have to be directing Thanksgiving Play this past fall. I learned a lot from that production. The cast was so dedicated to the process and easy to work with. Rehearsals were filled with laughter and fun.”

My personal thoughts after seeing The Bourgeois Gentleman were amazing! The cast, crew and everyone involved should be extremely proud of the wonderfully comedic show put on. If you were unable to make this show, Gannaway closed the interview by describing the next opportunity to support the Drury Theatre department. “The ‘Drury Lane Film Festival’ premieres on April 22nd and 23rd at 7:30 pm. I designed costumes for the film Cheater, and the festival will feature the phenomenal work of our students.”