Sophomore Patrick King has a 25-hour course load this semester.

He’s a member of Zeta Chi fraternity and is a triple major in Business, Vocal Performance and Theater.

King is also the lead in the production of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the first theater production of the year.

King plays Ichabod Crane, a schoolteacher who teaches in a town called Sleepy Hollow.

“To be cast in such a big role with great supporting actors … it’s really amazing,” King said.

When he found out he had been cast as the lead in the play, he felt nervous, but honored.

“Nervous would not quite cover it,” King said. “I’ve been in theater for eight years now and I know how to handle a role, but this is, to be honest, my first leading role, so I was definitely nervous. Just because it was Ichabod and there was a stereotype and the show is known so well, so there was also that added pressure.”

Associate Professor of Theater Tom Heiman, who is directing the show, saw the original production in the 1970s, and it has stuck with him ever since.

“It’s a different kind of theater,” he said. “Hopefully it’s enough fun that the college audience will like it, too.”

This production has a number of special effects throughout the hour-long show.

“At one point, Patrick King … looked at me and said, ‘you’re going to give me nightmares, Tom.’ There are some other fun things that we do,” Heiman said.

While King has the lead role for the production, around 50 students are involved with the production.

Freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors are acting and helping out with set design, costumes, lighting, publicity and sound.

Freshman Ryan Hodges is a member of the crew for this show and has really enjoyed working with Heiman.

“He’s a really good guy to work with,” Hodges said. “He’s flexible. He’ll take your opinions and he’ll give you advice.”

While there has been a lot of hard work gone into the show, and King has had to balance all his other activities and courses, he said working on the show has been good for him and is a stress reliever.

“When I come out of rehearsal, I’m feeling 10 times lighter and 15 times more tired,” King said. “It’s really nice to have a show that you can act so freely in. It’s also another thing that I have to do … for the most part, it’s almost therapeutic for me.”

The production, which started Thursday, runs through Sunday in Rice Auditorium. Shows Friday and Saturday are at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday’s show is at 2 p.m.