The Meccas of theater are known throughout the world: Broadway in the heart of New York City, the West End district of foggy London, Steppenwolf Theater in windy Chicago. Avid fans of the art may feel their hearts beat faster at the mere mention of these areas.

It is unlikely that their heartbeats increase drastically at the mention of Kerrville, Texas.

It is this disconnect from the theatrical world that Texas native and Syracuse University 2009 alumnus Graham Douglass is seeking to address with his new show, “The Graham Show.”

The show premieres on Friday, Sept. 28, and will feature weekly interviews with various members of the theater world. The show will include 18 guest stars in its first season, including a variety of speakers from actors to Tony Award-winning producers, Graham said.

“The mission is to inspire and educate young adults about the theater,” Douglass said. “To bridge the gap between young theater aspirants that are outside of New York and have a strong passion and a love for theater but have no real connection to this community.”

Douglass hopes the interviews with his famous guests will allow viewers to see them in a different, more relatable light. The show gives a truthful look at the journey experienced by those working in theater, and will allow viewers to see how similar their lives really are to the stars they admire, Douglass said.

While Douglass arrived at SU to study broadcast journalism in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, he transferred into the College of Visual and Performing Arts and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the theater department as an acting major.

After several years of following the acting bug, however, Douglass felt it was time for a change.

“It began to feel like that chapter of my life was coming to an end,” Douglass said. “I just felt like I was getting burned out.”

The change manifested itself with Douglass reaching back to his broadcast roots and producing his own show.

He credits the NEW 205: “News Writing” class he took at SU as a source of inspiration for his eventual career path. When assigned to take a beat to report on for the duration of a semester project, Douglass contacted Chancellor Nancy Cantor and asked if she wouldn’t mind him shadowing her. The Chancellor obliged, and Douglass began his diligent reporting.

“I took a risk,” said Douglass, and added that the project made “a major impression and influence on me to want to continue pursuing this path.”

Published on August 27, 2012 at 1:43 am

Contact Chelsea: cedebais@syr.edu | @CDeBaise124