Chic-fil-yay! An Original Moosical

My name is Gwenyth J. Stack, and if you don’t know me, I’m the weird theatre girl who keeps talking about Chick-fil-Yay! An Original Moosical.

Chick-fil-Yay! is a Regent-student-written, produced, and directed musical featuring a unique cast of Chick-fil-A employees who sing and dance their way through life. Our show will be produced in the Regent University Dede Robertson Theatre this November 8th-10th.

Two years ago I was working at a Chick-fil-A in Newark, Delaware. I worked the 6AM shift, which was usually cold and–let’s face it–boring. In order to pass the time, I began imagining that my workplace was a musical, complete with dancing employees and customers. It’s the standard theatre-kid response, in fact I got through high school the same way. One day I was bagging an order for a “Daniel in a Black SUV,” and I started thinking about what my imaginary musical would look like if there was a forbidden love story between a Chick-fil-A manager and a . . . Daniel in a Black SUV. What would that relationship look like? What kind of songs could be written for it? Could I somehow manage to put a cow-themed ball gown somewhere in the show?

These are the same questions I arrived with when I first came to Regent University. I left my CFA in Delaware and started here without any clue of how to create a full musical production–it was all up to God.
Spring semester of my freshman year, Dean Tarr hosted open office hours. I popped in and told him that I wanted to get a group of students together to write a musical, and he supported me, so I started hosting interest meetings and harassing my friends. Telling people you want to write and produce a musical about Chick-fil-A is not a normal thing to do, but God blessed me with the right people at the right time.

I just so happened to play ISB soccer with Nathan Bunn–music director. I had a class with Daniel Simpson–lead choreographer. I was sitting in a Waffle House one night with two of my dear friends, Katrina Byrnes and Stephen Byrnes–who became fantastic show writers. And let’s not forget Matthew Das–writer and “king of the ushers”.

One day I was spending time with my friend Abigail Meifert at the beach, and mentioned that we still needed a Stage Manager. “Oh I can do that,” she said. “I did that a lot in high school.” Soon after Salome Moore–Assistant Stage Manager–seemed to drop out of the sky and into our show. Both she and Abby have a special gift for creative organization, and helped whip this ragtag group into shape.

We were all what one would label “amateurs,” which may appear as a derogatory term, but it actually means “lover of…”. I am an amateur because I am still new to the game, but I write and direct because I love Christian storytelling. I believe musical theatre, with the mixed media of song, dance, acting, stagecraft, costumes, etc. is one of the highest forms of art. I saw for myself what can happen when several Christian amateurs come together to create a story that they believe in.

By the grace of God we had a fantastic three show run last semester in the Studio Theatre, but that was just the beginning. We spent the summer back in the writer’s room working to make our show even better. We added two brand new songs, wrote fuller character arcs, and refreshed the ending. Now we’re back on stage with a bigger and better show–this time in the Dede Robertson Theatre!

What we need now more than ever is support. Many of us on this team want a career in Christian storytelling, and it is our friends and family who will help get us there. We love our show, and we love our God, and we want to do what pleases Him. We want to share His love with the arts, so we have made a show that exemplifies His joy, humor, and grace. Now we need to get the word out! So don your best red polo, grab a couple of cow-loving friends, and get your tickets now!

See you at the theatre!

God bless,
Gwenyth J. Stack