OU Senior Paints Future in the Arts

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NORMAN, Okla. – Goldie Snow spent last summer developing a theater production next to Stonehenge. The University of Oklahoma student had been tasked with creating the scenic design for “Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein,” to be presented in November by the Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre. But while she was on a memorable study abroad trip in Oxford, England, through OU’s Honors College, her team was still busy creating a show.

“Our technical director was in Japan, and the rest of the design team was in Norman,” Snow said. “We were battling different time zones, and it was a cool challenge. And it all worked out in the end. It was super beautiful, and I was astounded by the quality of work that our shop can produce.”

Snow’s time in the U.K. offered a deeply unique experience for her to explore. Her family lived in Picher, Okla., before toxic contamination led to the disestablishment of the mining town in 2013. After relocating to Miami, Okla., Snow took junior college classes and earned her Associate of Arts in Music degree before deciding to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama with a Scenic Design Emphasis at OU.

“Getting to Norman was a little bit of a shock. I was like, ‘Oh, this is a city.’ And then everyone here was like, ‘This is not a city,’ Snow said. “Having so many small groups here on campus helped me to find the small town in it all.”

Since arriving at the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts, Snow has worked on and led set design for a number of OU University Theatre productions. She said preparing for “Young Frankenstein” was a unique challenge – the show featured many scene transitions, and the director planned for no additional music during them – but it paid off.

Snow’s favorite set design experience was working on last February’s “Waiting for Lefty” production. The show’s messages resonated with her, and she was able to use her craft to guide its storytelling for audiences, including by creating giant stone-like walls using license plates. Scenic design’s ability to shape meaning motivates her, as does its collaborative nature.

“We say in design, ‘The best idea in the room wins,’” Snow said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s yours. It doesn’t matter if it seems crazy at first. If it’s the best idea for the story, that’s what we go with."

Beyond the stage, Snow has also found community with the OU Roses, the women’s rugby club. A coach who set up a table on the South Oval had pitched it to her. Despite knowing nothing about the sport, she attended a practice and quickly embraced the team. “It's a fun game to begin with, but more than anything, it's about just the mentality surrounding the game: ‘We're going to put in the work, and it's going to be hard, and you're going to hurt, but we're going to have a great time doing it.’”

As Snow graduates from the University of Oklahoma, with the expectation of landing in a much bigger city for theater work, she’s passing on memories to future generations. She worked with the OU Listening Project to help interview OU Roses members and digitally preserve their histories for years to come. And she helped the Honors College restart its Outdoor Adventure club, a group she had hiked in the wilderness of New Mexico with before officially arriving on campus

Snow also eyes a return to the classroom. “After I hopefully have several years of experience under my belt, I want to go back to get my grad degree so that I can teach,” she said. “A lot of the experiences that I've had here have taught me that I want to help other people make art and tell stories.”