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Man of La Mancha’s ‘Don Quixote’

By Juanita Kissell

Special to BPC News and Public Information office

MOUNT VERNON—The following profile is ninth in a series of releases by Brewton-Parker College’s theater department, which will perform Man of La Mancha, a musical comedy, April 19-21 at Southeastern Technical College’s Toombs Auditorium. Performances will start at 7:30 p.m. each night. Tickets are $8 general admission and free with a valid BPC ID card.

Kolby DePratter, “Don Quixote”

Kolby DePratter as 'Don Quixote'

Name:  Kolby DePratter       

Year in college:  Freshman                                 

Major:  General Studies            

Hometown:  Blackshear, GA

Plans for future/career:  Youth Pastor

Dream job:  Travel and speak to teenage and college age guys about purity

Organizations/Activities:  Baptist Collegiate Ministries, Intramurals

Favorite leisure activities:  Singing and playing sports

Previous Theater experience:  Commedia del’ Morte, My Fair Lady, The Bald Soprano, Grease, The Dining Room, Crazy for You, and Wizard of Oz 

DePratter plays the main role in Man of La Mancha.  He starts as Don Miguel de Cervantes, a playwright thrown in prison who is awaiting trial.  Cervantes puts on a show to keep the prisoners entertained so they don’t kill him, and turns himself into Alonso Quijana.  As the story unfolds, Quijana becomes a knight and begins his quest to rid the world of all wrongs, adopting the title Don Quixote de La Mancha. 

DePratter’s favorite part of playing Quixote is that Quixote is “pure, and he only sees Aldonza for who she could be” rather than the prostitute that she is.  The biggest challenges are the physical nature of Quixote’s actions and the vocal and emotional changes throughout the musical. 

DePratter describes his character(s) as “struggling to survive in the world they live in.  Don Quixote in particular is set on making the world a better place.”

-BPC-