It’s February 2024 and sophomore Liam Parke is walking with a friend on the way to his soundcheck for the closing weekend of performances for his first main stage Florida Southern College production, “Urinetown: the Musical.” They reach their destination‐the green room, an exposed room with a stone exterior at the end of an ominous alleyway.
“Break a leg,” Parke’s friend said as they concluded their conversation.
“Thank you,” he responded as he backed towards the two stone steps leading down into the green room. Just as the words escaped his mouth, Parke tripped down the steps, landing hard on his ankle. After finishing the final few performances of the weekend, he got his ankle checked out to discover that while he didn’t break his leg as his friend encouraged him to, he did severely sprain his ankle.
This is the life of Liam Parke: chaotic, busy and sometimes painful, but also very rewarding and filled with immense joy. As a double major in musical theatre and history, Parke is devoted to storytelling.
“Storytelling has probably had one of the biggest impacts on my life, as I’ve learned so much from reading books and watching movies, and [I] would love to continue learning by making my own stories in theatre.”
-Liam Parke
Storytelling influences nearly all of the copious activities he is involved in around campus and the other communities of which he is a part. In addition to his work in the theater department, Parke uses his storytelling talents as vice president of finance for the Mocappellas, as a singer at Grace Lutheran Church’s Sunday services, and in occasional short films, including FSC alumni Joseph Soscia’s “Faith,” which is nominated for three awards at the Great Lakes Christian Film Festival. Additionally, Parke tells the story of FSC to current and potential future Mocs as a Southern Ambassador, a ZeeMee Influencer and an Orientation Leader.
Naturally, Parke has worked extremely hard to get to where he is today with help from his childhood experiences.
Growing up in Cumming, Georgia, a small town near Atlanta, storytelling was ingrained in Parke from a young age. Parke was heavily influenced by Rick Riordan’s classic series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” That passion, coupled with his Irish dual citizenship, further stoked his love for history, much like Percy Jackson’s deep connection to the ancient world.
These early influences shaped Parke’s storytelling abilities and helped develop his rich imagination. Additionally, Parke is a triplet with two sisters, and the whole family shares a deep passion for the performing arts. Both of his sisters are also pursuing theater-related majors in college. Parke’s family is extremely important to him, and he consistently returns to his roots during school breaks.
“I definitely credit my mom…She allowed me to have a phenomenal education and pushed me to pursue what I love, even if it doesn’t guarantee me a job when I graduate.”
-Liam Parke
Parke shared how his mom tirelessly traveled up and down the East Coast during his college search to allow him and his siblings to find their perfect school. Her dedication originated long before that, though, as his mom enabled Parke to accumulate the best experiences possible in his early years. As a single mom, she homeschooled him and his sisters through their early schooling and sent them to a small private arts conservatory for high school, the perfect place to prepare them for their future goals.
“She encouraged me to do dual enrollment, and that was honestly the best decision she could have asked me to [make] because it allowed me to come into college with already 30 hours of credits,” Parke said. “I can register with the sophomores and I can take upper-level classes already, which as a double major is really important because it allows me to graduate on time.”
Thanks to his positive early family experiences, Parke now has added new families on campus through his social involvement socially with Pi Kappa Phi and professionally with Phi Mu Alpha, the music fraternity. Much like Percy Jackson’s close-knit group of friends and allies, Parke takes pride in forming personal connections with as many people around campus as possible.
Along with his gratitude towards where he came from, Parke is genuinely thankful for the people and experiences FSC has already given him and will continue to give him over the next two and a half years.
“The professors here really, really value you. They want to get to know you as people and not just students.”
-Liam Parke
Parke has developed strong bonds with both his musical theater and history professors during his first year at college, and that has presented him with some incredible opportunities. So far, Parke has received three main stage roles at FSC: Mr. Falcon in “Urinetown: The Musical”; Carter the butler in Agatha Christie’s “Witness for the Prosecution”; and Herr Neumann in this semester’s musical “Spring Awakening,” which will begin performances Nov. 15. Parke hopes to receive more experiences as his college career progresses.
After college, Parke is not entirely sure what his future will hold, but he has a vision. He plans to attend graduate school at Trinity College Dublin and pursue a master’s in theater or history. Like Percy Jackson’s journey into uncharted territories, Parke is ready to embark on his adventures, whether that be acting professionally or becoming a theater or history professor.