Barton Community College sophomore Drew Reisner spends his afternoons each day creating a new world inside of the Fine Arts Auditorium as a member of the stage production team for Barton Theater’s fall production of William Inge’s play “Bus Stop.”  Once he’s done with that, he puts on his costume and rehearses with the rest of the cast into the evening. Oh, and he’s also learning to play the guitar for the show and handling a full class load. The Hoisington native has a lot on his plate, but it’s nothing he can’t handle.  
“It takes a lot of late night studying and support from my friends,” he said.
Reisner became interested in stage production and acting when he came to Barton, and ultimately discovered his future career aspirations in stage production – specifically light engineering.
“I came out to Barton and looked at their program and also watched “Beauty and the Beast” and realized that’s what I wanted to do because the stage production and light show were great. I also tried acting at Barton as well and just fell in love with it.”
Reisner said each facet of theater appeals to him for different reasons.
“I just love making the set and doing lighting because it’s kind of a magical effect when you bring the illusion onto the stage, and you know that you created that, and the look in peoples’ eyes when they walk into the theater and see how cool it looks is just awesome. With acting, I get to escape my reality and walk down a different path in life for a while,” he said.  
Reisner said working with the respective leaders of both the acting and stage production parts of the show has been very beneficial to his development in both areas.
“Working with Erin is interesting and helpful because she knows how to push you right up to your limit, but she also knows where your boundaries are,” he said of Barton’s Theater Director Erin Renard.
“Working with Leon is like a dream,” he said of Technical Director Leon Sobba. “It’s one of the best things I’ve experienced and one of the best jobs I’ve ever had.”
Reisner said the production will be something people won’t want to miss.
“It’s a bull-in-the-china-shop romance,” he said.  “We have all put in a lot of work and people that come will definitely get their money’s worth.”
The play will premiere at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, in the Fine Arts Auditorium. There will be an additional showing Friday evening at 7:30.  Admission is free for all students with an ID (high school or college.)  General admission for non-students is $7.  Tickets will be available at the ticket window on nights of performance; doors open at 7 p.m.  For more information, contact Barton Theatre Director Renard at renarde@bartonccc.edu or (620)786-1187.