Parker was interested in film and music as a child and at high school and attended the University of Colorado Boulder , where he met Stone. The Musical The duo possess full creative control of the show, and have produced music and video games based on it. Parker went on to write, produce, direct, and star in the satirical action film Team America: World Police , and, after several years of development, The Book of Mormon premiered on Broadway to positive reviews.
His later ventures into animation would bear considerable influence from Terry Gilliam. He played the dentist and had a friend play the patient. The plot involved what can go wrong at the dentist; due to the amounts of fake blood involved, Parker's parents were called and were upset, with Parker later recalling that "the kindergartners were all crying and freaking out". Parker has described himself as "the typical big-dream kid" who envisioned a career in film and music. His father had purchased him a video camera and the group continued making films until graduation.
At 14, he performed his first role as chorus member in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Flower Drum Song and went on to also design sets for the community theater's production of Little Shop of Horrors. In high school, he also played piano for the chorus and was president of the choir counsel. He was typically the lead in school plays and was also prom king.
During his time there, he took a film class in which students were required to collaborate on projects. It became an unexpected sensation, resulting in Parker's first award—a Student Academy Award. Parker recalled sitting in the auditorium in front of students from animation schools such as CalArts , saying, "And there are all these Cal Arts kids behind me who had submitted these beautiful watercolor and pencil things.
And here's my shitty construction-paper thing, which makes South Park look like Disney , by the way, and they're all fuming.
