By Connor Schoen, Aviator staff writer 

Taylor Bowden is the current president of the De Pere Drama Club, as well as an actor for DPHS theatre productions.

In the recent performance of Young Frankenstein, Bowden portrayed Frankenstein’s hunchbacked assistant, Igor.

Asked about this musical, he said, “It’s dirty in some parts. It’s not always for children, but we totally want children to come and watch it because it’s still funny. There is a lot of double entendres, but kids won’t probably understand them.”

Bowden started his Drama Club career with humble beginnings, working on the sound production as a freshman for the musical, Grease.

His position changed sophomore year when he was directing a one-act play for the annual DPHS one-act play festival. It was a spoof of Tennessee Williams’ plays that required about 3-4 actors, so Bowden got 3-4 kids to fill the roles.

The actors practiced every weekday after school, with guidance from the director, of course. However, one kid regularly missed practices and eventually dropped out from the project, leaving only Bowden to replace him.

At first, having to replace an actor made Bowden nervous, but as soon as he performed it live on stage, he found he had a knack for acting. He would later play roles such as ShuFu from “The Good Woman of Setzuan,” Moses and Fred Bailey in “The Skin of our Teeth,” and Smee in “Peter Pan.”

Drama Club has changed Bowden’s life, and he has made it a part of his student identity at DPHS.

“Drama Club has changed my life by giving me the confidence to speak in front of anybody and be a more approachable person to anybody,” he said. “My self-confidence has gone up, and I think I’m a better well rounded person overall. Plus, you meet some great people and become more knowledgeable on plays and musicals.”