University of the Ozarks senior Daisy Woodbury and professor emeritus Dr. Pat Farmer are sharing their love for musical theatre far and wide through the weekly award-winning KUOZ radio show, The Great Broadway Musical Hour (TGBMH).
Woodbury, a theatre and communication studies (media production) major from Mountain Home, Ark., serves as the student producer of the show that features Farmer, who taught theatre at Ozarks from 1987 to 2011. The duo present the entertaining, fast-paced show each Thursday at 11 a.m. that can be heard on the University’s radio station, KUOZ FM-100.5, or through livestream at www.ozarks.edu/KUOZ.
“I think the dynamic that we have created in the studio creates a space for us to be brave and spread our love for musical theatre so easily with our listeners,” Woodbury said. “The attention and detail that Dr. Farmer puts in is truly shown every week and I can certainly say that our listeners would agree.”
Woodbury first met the retired professor when both were cast in the University Theatre production of “Proof” in April of 2021.
“It all started with theatre,” said Woodbury, who is entering her fifth semester of producing the show. “I have been a lover of musical theatre for as long as I remember. Luckily enough, my freshman year, I was cast as Catherine in ‘Proof’ with Dr. Farmer playing opposite of me as Robert, Catherine’s father. Through ‘Proof,’ Dr. Farmer and I had talked about my double major and our shared love for the American musical. Professor [Susan] Edens than reached out to me around the time I took her Radio and Podcast Production class and asked if I would like the opportunity to work with Dr. Farmer again and I leapt at it.”
Woodbury is the latest in a line of student producers of TGBMH, which is in its sixth year of production. In its first season, 2017, the show was named Best Specialty Music Show by the Intercollegiate Broadcasting Service.
“The student producers play a major role in the success of the show,” said Farmer. “Working with the students like Daisy and getting to know them is one of the reasons I enjoy doing the show as much as I do. One of the things I miss the most about teaching is the relationships with students, so I get to have that without all the other work and meetings. This show would not be possible without the students running the boards and for them I am forever grateful.”
Woodbury said getting to know and work with Farmer has been one the highlights of her time at Ozarks.
“I thoroughly enjoy how much I learn from Dr. Farmer every time that we work together,” Woodbury said. “Arts education is a passion of mine. I look up to Dr. Farmer as a mentor and fellow advocate. He is wildly intelligent, funny, and a perfectionist, which is something that we both are and I think it’s one of the reasons we get along so well. I can say after all of this time, I have come to know Dr. Farmer not only as a role model for me in arts education, but more importantly a friend. His work has inspired me to pursue theatre as a career, not as an actor, but as a teacher for all ages. Showing not only the youth, but that all ages can learn about theatre and apply it to their lives.”
Woodbury said getting reunited with Farmer at the start of each semester is always a special moment.
“Getting to see Dr. Farmer as a new semester begins always stands out to me,” Woodbury said. “It has always been a long summer before every time I see him, and just being in a room with someone who loves what they do and you can tell that through their work is just so refreshing. It is my favorite day of every semester and it is a day that I’m truly going to miss once I graduate in December.”
Woodbury plans to attend graduate school in either theatre management or technical direction following graduation. This past summer she served as a technical theatre intern for Straz Center for the Performing Arts: Patel Conservatory in Tampa, Fla. There she worked on numerous productions in roles such as production stage manager, assistant director, lighting designer, lighting and sound board operator, and theatre teaching assistant. She worked with a variety of ages, from 4 to over 70.
“University of the Ozarks has given me experiences that I will never forget,” Woodbury said. “I truly owe most of my success to the teachers and faculty who have pushed me to be the most authentic, hardworking version of myself. Faculty such as Lucas Hoiland, Professor Susan Edens, Dr. Macy Jones, Dr. Amy Oatis, and Dr. Eddie Ardeneaux have forever left an impact on my life in all of the best ways. Others who have had ties to the University such as Dr. Pat Farmer, Dr. Rhonda Shook, and Professor Rebecca Bailey have also made my Ozarks experience memorable. Ozarks academically has changed my thinking and made me appreciate even more the ideas of intersectional learning and how the pursuit of knowledge has no limits and should always be challenged. By self- and faculty-led education and the conceptualization of new ideas, we are not only growing as intellectuals but an independent, individual people in this new forward thinking world. Ozarks will always be my alma mater and I will always remember and appreciate it because of the people who made my experience worth it and have changed me forever.”
Topics: Communication Studies, Theatre