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Dedman College Scholar Leads 2017 24 Hour Musical

At this year’s Family Weekend, families and students gathered on the Dallas Hall lawn to enjoy the 24-Hour Musical, a radical experiment in immediate theatre where students of all backgrounds, experience levels, and majors come together to produce a full-length musical in less than 24 hours.

Fourth year Dedman College Scholar Samuel Weber co-created, directed, and choreographed the musical. He also participated on the production side, serving as Vice President of Programming for Program Council, the student organization that produced the musical.

For this year’s production, the team chose Into the Woods, which Samuel describes as “inarguably one of the most challenging shows to sing and learn in the musical theatre canon.” Into the Woods tells the intertwined stories of famous fairy tale characters such as Cinderella, Prince Charming, Witch, and Little Red Riding Hood.

Samuel was involved with the very first 24-Hour Musical, a production of Spring Awakening, when he was an underclassman. He has taken on many different roles over the years, from choreographing to producing to directing. As a senior, he is now grooming the underclassmen who will soon take over the tradition. 

Samuel is exceptionally multi-interested and, as he describes, “a glutton for punishment” when it comes to academics. He is majoring in Biology, Chemistry, and Health & Society with minors in Classical Studies, History, Latin, Musical Theatre, and, if he can fit one more class in, Human Rights. In addition to his theatre involvement during his time at SMU, he has served as a research assistant in the Biochemistry department and is currently pursuing several research projects related to the intersection of theatre and healthcare.

“The most memorable part of undergrad, though, has been serving as the choreography fellow and assisting with choreography on Public Works Dallas at Dallas Theater Center, a massive public initiative that brings art to communities all over Dallas,” says Samuel.

Samuel is in the process of applying to medical schools, where he hopes to continue focusing on healthcare that pays attention to the human narrative and using the arts to inform medical practice.

Says Samuel, “I’ll continue trying to work in theatre as much as possible, though that may be very little in medical school, and think that will always be a part of my life.”