October 2021 Volume 4, Issue 8
SVCC alumni participates in a comedy horror show
SVCC alumni, David Waters, participates in Mistress Peace Theater which is available online at their website and airs on multiple channels such as The Vortexx and The Monster Channel.
Mistress Peace Theater is a horror comedy series put together by local area artists in and around Oregon, IL. However, the show airs globally and their audience isn’t limited to the United States. The show is similar to popular comedy series such as Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Elvira’s Movie Macabre. Waters portrays the character of Dr. Madd, a mad scientist.
Waters talks about while the idea of the show has been done before, the thing that makes the show unique is that they are “all inclusive.” “It doesn’t matter who you are,” says Waters, “We’re inclusive and we want to help at the same time.”
An important aspect of the show for Waters are the hotlines they include at the end of each episode. He says, “We put out support numbers in our credits. It doesn’t matter who you are, we’re there for you.” Waters goes on to say, “That’s what makes us a different show than others.”
The support the show brings awareness to is important for Waters as a veteran. He talks about when he first joined the show he brought up raising awareness to veteran suicide. Waters then says, “In the ending credits of our show now we have a veteran crisis line.”
Not only does the show bring support to others, it has also helped Waters himself. After retirement from service in the army, he ran into a producer of the show that offered him a part. At first, Waters declined, but then he says, “I kept thinking back to it,” and about his time in the service before thinking to himself, “I don’t back away from anything. I need to do this.”
While Waters enjoys playing a part in the show, he’s not one for fame or rather he says, “I’m indifferent about it.” He tells the story of getting recognized by someone he used to go to school with as being part of Mistress Peace Theater.
Waters says at that moment he thought “How do I deal with this? How do I talk about this?” He says, “ I want to be underneath my rock.” It’s most important for him to show up and do his part. “Outside of that, everything else is beyond me,” says Waters.
Another important aspect for Waters when doing the show is to make people laugh. “I’m not doing this for fortune or fame,” he says, “If I can make you laugh and forget about your personal problems, then I’m doing my job right.”