Senior theatre major Devin Petersen has explored many avenues while at Whitman, both inside and outside of the theatre. He started out on track for an economics major, an interest he discovered his first year while looking for something he considered more practical than theatre.

“One day a theatre major looked me in the eye and said, ‘Can you really imagine doing anything else with your life?’ And the answer was no,” said Petersen. “And at that point I decided it was okay to become a theatre major, that it wasn’t a cop-out, it was being true to myself.”

Since then he has explored many facets of the theatre, from acting to scenic design, in which he did his senior project. He also states he is interested in too many parts of theatre to pick one as his focus, but he does admit a fondness for scenic design.

“I’ve done so many things in the theatre, it’s hard to pinpoint one thing, but I’m certainly best known for my scenic design work,” said Petersen. “And it is probably my primary interest in theatre, but not my only interest.”

His flexibility shows in his plans for the future as well. Petersen plans to spend a year in Seattle either working in the theater field, such as with a lighting company, or working a job that allows him to participate in the Seattle fringe theatre scene. Then he hopes to move on to a city like Chicago or New York City.

Wherever he ends up, Petersen will remember Harper Joy Theatre and the community that it offered him.

“I’ve had a lot of amazing mentors at Harper Joy Theatre,” said Petersen. “Professors, people who have already graduated, people in my own class and even underclassmen continue to inspire me to do better work.”