Another year has passed, and members of the Sock ‘n’ Buskin community are finishing up their final year both as a student and as a member of SnB.
Some of the members who are graduating include Tamara LaPlante, Lindsay Tannahill, Matthew Venner, Natalie Rocha, and Laura Walker.
The graduating members have been involvement for all four years, like Matthew, to those who worked on their first show this year, like Natalie, who was a stage manager for Twelfth Night.
“It was a great experience, it was a lot of responsibility that I was not necessarily prepared for, but everyone really helped me work through it and it was an amazing experience, one of the best experiences I’ve had in university,” Natalie said.
“The first show I worked on with Sock ‘n’ Buskin was Bonnie and Clyde the Musical, and I got in as an assistant stage manager,” Laura said.
These graduating members have experienced many moments over the course of their involvement with the company.
The graduating members also have memorable shows over their time with SnB. Looking back on her time here, Tamara remembers working on As You Like It.
“I wear a bracelet that Matt and Lindsay gave me. Matt was the director, and Lindsay was the stage manager, and I was their assistant stage manager,” said Tamara. “It was my first time working behind the scenes with Sock ‘n’ Buskin, I’d done a little bit of that in high school but not too much, and it was this amazing cast of people, we all came together and put on this really fun show, so it’s been really hard to top that.”
As these members get set to graduate and leave behind their family that they’ve gotten to know throughout the years, a generation of new students will step up and be involved in the SnB.
“Don’t be afraid to put your name out there, and to show up to things,” Lindsay said. “We try to have as many opportunities for people to get involved as possible.”
She mentions the importance of going to Club Expo, introducing yourself, sending emails, showing interest, and asking questions.
“Sock ‘n’ Buskin is a lesson in investing in community, because community gives us purpose, and it gives us meaning and friendship, and so find your thing and go all in. Don’t hold back, just go all into the thing that you love and support the community that you love and it’ll make your university experience way more enriching,” Lindsay said about what advice she would give to new students joining the club.