The Washburn Review • October 6, 2018 • https://washburnreview.org/3326/features/student-profile-alexander-laughlin/
Student Profile: Alexander Laughlin
Alexander Laughlin, senior theater major, has shown his talent in the school. He recently organized the Costume Sale at Washburn Theater Department, however, his talent shows in many aspects of the department.
Laughlin was exposed to theater at a very young age.
"I've been involved in theater since I was in third grade in 2003," Laughlin said. "I've been in 42 plays and musicals."
Laughlin has been in almost every play at Washburn. His study at Washburn has helped him build knowledge and interest in theater.
"I really love the survey of drama classes, where you get to learn about theater throughout history. You understand where theater comes from," Laughlin said.
Laughlin gained experience using makeup, and he took the stage makeup class twice.
"You learn how to make yourself look very old and how to put on a beard," said Laughlin. "I, one time, made it look like a tree [was] coming out of my face, like a branch growing up at my forehead."
Aside from acting and makeup, Laughlin likes to work in production design, where he creates the sets on the stage. He also has an interest in art. He is involved in local community art, dance, singing, music playing, and theater.
In college, Laughlin learned how to memorize lines.
"There was one show of Christian where I played a pastor," said Laughlin. "The first six pages were all my lines and it took me a very long time to memorize."
Theater is a large part of Laughlin's life. His passion toward theater has helped him get to where he is today.
"I've been doing it forever. That's why theater comes naturally to me now," Laughlin said. "Theater is natural and raw. That's why I love it."
Laughlin is still on his way to achieve his goals. His end goal is to work with Lady Gaga.
Laughlin was in charge of setting up the Costume Sale. It took place from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 29 to Oct. 7 at Washburn Theater. He came up with the idea because the costume shop was so full of costumes. He wanted to minimize the space in the shop.
"The main goal is to get rid of as much as we can," he said. "If we make it as cheap as we can, people would like to buy it, regardless of the quality."
The costume items were sold from $1 to $20. The difficult thing was to get all the costumes in order and to see which costumes were able to be sold.
"You never know when they need the certain costumes for a show," said Laughlin. "The costume that you picked out might be something to use later."
Besides theater, Laughlin is making his way into the film acting field. It's different from theater acting. He's an actor in many projects by the film department. He has done a couple short films for the coming film festival.
"You are in front of the audience, but they're film crew, camera man, sound person, director and assistant director. You have to repeat the action and dialog over and over again, so that they can get different shots of you," he said.
Laughlin is a talented theater student on Washburn's campus. He is also pursuing his goals in the art and film field. He plans to work in Kansas City after graduation in December, where the theater and film industry is growing. With his knowledge and skills, he will have the future he wants.