Moscow native Samuel Hunter to give commencement speech
Playwright Samuel Hunter said although he moved out of state after high school, his Idaho heritage is an important part of who he is today.
Hunter, 33, is a Moscow native and well known for his award-winning plays “A Bright New Boise” and “The Whale.” He said he was surprised and overwhelmed with excitement when he was asked to speak at the 2015 Spring Commencement ceremony.
Samuel Hunter
“I was overwhelmingly appreciative and this opportunity means so much to me, but it’s also really nerve wracking,” Hunter said. “My idea of a commencement speaker is someone who is wise and has lived a lot of life, and here I am, at 33, still trying to figure it all out.”
Commencement will begin at 9:30 a.m. next Saturday and general seating is free and open to the public. Jamie Garlinghouse, graduation and commencement coordinator, said each year the University of Idaho president chooses the commencement speaker.
“There is a Faculty Senate Commencement Committee that compiles a list of people they would like to see speaking at the graduation,” Garlinghouse said. “Then this list is sent to the president, who makes the final decision and chooses the specific individual.”
Hunter is an ensemble playwright at Victory Garden, as well as a core member of the Playwrights Center. He graduated from New York University (NYU) only 11 years ago.
Despite his young age, he said he hopes to connect with the audience because his Idaho heritage is such an integral part of who he is.
“The more I thought about it, the more I began to think that maybe I do have some relevant things to say,” he said. “I’m an Idahoan who set off into the world, so I know what it feels like going off on your own and maintaining your sense of identity as an Idahoan.”
Hunter said while he chose to attend NYU rather than UI, his family has an extensive history
in Moscow.
“My family goes pretty far back here,” he said. “My parents and all four of my grandparents went to UI and my great-grandfather built the Moscow Hotel … I may have moved after high school, but I have a very deep connection with the area.”
Hunter said almost all of the plays he’s written have taken place in Idaho, and “A Bright New Boise” was even performed by the UI Theatre Department last fall.
Many of Hunter’s plays serve as quiet character portraits, and he said “A Bright New Boise” is about a fundamentalist Christian trying to reconcile his faith to reconnect with his son.
“Like most of my work, it’s a drama, but also kind of a serial comic,” Hunter said. “My plays tend to be about people trying to negotiate big questions about life and faith and doubt with this sort of day-to-dayness of their lives … For example, ‘A Bright New Boise’ asks these questions about faith and family and it’s set in a
break room.”
Hunter said he likes the idea of having a small and specific setting where large and sweeping ideas are explored. He said he’s been trying to incorporate some of the ideas expressed in his work in the commencement speech he’s giving
next Saturday.
“I struggled with what message I wanted to convey to this graduating class,” he said. “I’m still working and reworking the speech, but I really want to convey that the day isn’t about me, or the speech, or the ceremony. It’s about these students and how they’re going to enter into the rest of their lives.”
Hunter said one of the most valuable lessons he has learned in his life so far is letting go of living under the idea of identity.
“There’s a big difference between the idea you have of the person you want to become and the person you should actually become,” he said. “There is immense value in the process of organically finding yourself, rather than living your life under a label.”
Corrin Bond can be reached at [email protected]