By John R. Behn
On Thursday, Oct. 5, the Utah State University Eastern Theatre Department opens its doors to its fall production of “Catch Me if You Can,” a Psychological thriller/comedy by Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert adapted from the French version by Robert Thomas. This is the first installment of spotlight interviews showcasing the actors in the production.
For this first spotlight interview, we are presenting Ryker Childs (pictured on the left in the photo) who is performing in the role of Inspector Levine. Childs was born and raised in Price, and graduated in 2021 from Carbon High School. His favorite hobbies include theatre, running, soccer, hiking and anything out-of-doors.
When asked why he chose to attend USU Eastern, he stated, “It was affordable, and it was close to home.” Childs stated that the biggest attraction was that he had heard good things about the USU Eastern theatre program, and that helped him to choose where to go.
Childs was involved in four high school theatre productions and hopes to continue the theatre experiences by majoring in Theatre Arts at USU Eastern and, in a year or two, decide where to go from there.
When asked why he decided to involve himself with this production he said, “I had been in the two previous productions, ‘Sherwood; The Adventures of Robin Hood’ and “It Runs in the Family,’ and they were both phenomenal experiences and I just loved every second that I got to work with Corey Ewan, Associate Professor in the theatre department, and all of the other cast members.”
When asked how he would describe the theatre program at USU Eastern, he said, “I would say it’s definitely a small theatre group. But, with it being small, I’ve noticed that everyone is very close and are really good friends with each other. We have good relationships with our professors, Brent Innes and Corey Ewan. Even though it’s really small, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.”
When asked what he believes is the greatest challenge of this production for him, he stated that his previous production, the farce “It Runs in the Family,” required a great deal of energy. In this current production, his character is completely different and requires a different energy level. “It’s been really hard to find the correct energy level for the show,” he said.
Childs would like the USU Eastern community to know, “We’ve got a lot of great talent within this production. I think it’s going to be one of the best shows we’ve done once we are ready to perform it. It’s a lot of fun, a lot of great twists, and you never know what is going to happen. And we’ve all worked very hard on it, and I don’t think we’re going to disappoint anybody.”
So, set a day on your calendar to come out and watch “Catch Me if you Can,” USU Eastern’s fall theatre production, opening Oct. 5 and running through Oct. 14 in the Peterson Black Box Theatre in the CIB building at USU Eastern in Price. Doors open at 7 p.m. and tickets can be purchased at the door. USU Eastern students’ admission is covered by their activity fee. As Childs stated, you won’t be disappointed.