Bobby Gomez found his passion for musical theatre while perusing Pandora stations in his free time, but didn’t make his way into a Bachelor of Fine Arts program until transferring from a large university to Shawnee. He greatly prefers the small campus and class sizes, as well as the personal relationships he’s able to cultivate with his professors. Through the guidance of his peers and mentors Bobby has flipped his grades from getting 1.0s to nearly 4.0s - but it hasn’t been easy.
“Focus on your studies, but don’t forget to have fun,” Bobby says. “You’ve got to work to find a balance.”
Bobby’s dream is to compose a musical that makes its way to Broadway and he knows he has the resources here at Shawnee to set him on his way. He recommends taking advantage of our piano rooms available in the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts if you’re looking to hone your musical skills.
Alpha Psi Omega is the theatre fraternity for MT majors with a lot of performance and back-stage experience at Shawnee. Last spring, Bobby and other Musical Theatre majors put together a “Shawnee Showcase” cabaret to raise money for Alpha Psi, which goes toward production costs for SSU plays and musicals.
Shawnee typically puts on four shows a year, with open auditions for ALL students - not just majors. Contact John Huston at jhuston@shawnee.edu for audition and program information.