The first time I ever met Sullivan Hogan was in a theater class.
I, a non-theater major, walked into the room to see her, a theater major, sitting in a faded red loveseat, one of the many chairs from previous productions that occupied the theater room. Having never met me, she immediately introduced herself, along with her fellow classmates, and I remember how personable it felt.
Hogan prides herself on being personable.
Sullivan Hogan, or Sully, as she is commonly known, is a junior theater and digital media communications double major from St. Louis. For as long as she remembers, she has loved entertaining people with her characters. From her 1st grade Thanksgiving play, in which she starred as Elizabeth the pilgrim, to her part-time job portraying costumes of Daffy Duck and Sylvester the Cat in high school, Hogan loves bringing to life her assigned personas.
Hogan hopes to bring that same passion to her starring role as Nora Helmer in “A Doll’s House” this November, as Union University’s theater department tackles Henrik Ibsen and Thomas Ostermeier’s feminist tour de force. Hogan refers to Nora as “one of [her] most impressive roles to date.”
One thing Hogan makes very clear about her role as Nora is how impactful it is.
“I’m on the stage for almost the entirety of the show, which means I am acting the entire time,” Hogan says. She seems half giddy and half nervous about her extended stage presence throughout the program, but continuously comes back to how her performance will resonate with the audience.
Hogan’s love of the stage thrives on her wanting the audience to connect with her characters. When asked about the true reasoning behind her passion for theater, she alludes to a more intimate connection than most people are used to today.
“A great performance is able to make the theater seem smaller,” Hogan says passionately. “My favorite performances are the ones where people come up to me after the show and tell them how much they needed to see the show and what my character meant to them.”
In the end, that’s really what Hogan sees as the big picture: God calling her to connect with people through her performances.
Professor David Burke, former director of Union’s theater program, would always say that “theater is the most difficult calling God can give.” Hogan takes that message to heart.
From the first time I met her, Hogan seemed intent on making me feel included. The first time I saw her in a performance, as Nurse Kelly in last year’s “Harvey,” I saw how well she connected with an audience. Sitting across from her in this crowded coffee shop, watching her greet a handful of students as she walked in, I see that those connections aren’t just between a fictional character and an audience member in a state of suspended disbelief, but a connection between someone willing to use the gift God gave her and those receptive to it.
Nora from “A Doll’s House” is famous for her door slam heard ‘round the world. It’s Hogan’s job to make it heard by you.