Every October, a new batch of eager theatre students grace the Allaert Auditorium stage for St. Ambrose University's annual Fresh Face Revue. With the largest number of "Fresh Faces" in recent years, Department Chair, Dan Rairdin-Hale '04, stepped up to welcome these new students and direct this unique showcase. He noted, "We never had this opportunity when I was a student, so to be a part of it now and to get to work with all the new students was really exciting!"
Under Hale's direction, and with assistance from stage manager sophomore Jessica Karolczak, each "Fresh Face" performed in either a monologue, song, scene, or dance routine, as well as two group numbers for this production. Ellie Larsen opened the showcase with her musical rendition of "Nothing" from A Chorus Line. Other acts of the evening included monologues from first year students Luke Peterson, Tyler Hughes, and Peyton Weber as they chose their selections from My Mom Took My Phone Away and I'm Going Crazy, What Theo Did, and Two Rooms, respectively.
Of course, the talent did not stop there! Haley Rhoads was a crowd favorite with her original choreography to the song, "She Used to Be Mine" from Waitress. Alejandra Acosta-Gallegos shined when she performed a color guard routine to the song, "Here's to the Fools" from La La Land. In addition to individual acts, first year students Anthony Duckett and Kaylea Sims performed a scene together from Fear and Misery of the Third Reich. Transfer students from Muscatine Community College, Halie Osborn and Kendall McKasson also performed a scene together, however, their scene was pulled from the always interesting play Mr. Marmalade.
In addition to the ten performers on stage, the production had four new tech faces as well. First-year students Maddy Atkins, Kindred Ahrens, and Jackson "JD" Carey worked as the backstage crew, and first year Morgan Reilly operated the light board for this production.
With the inclusion of a group dance number to Beyonce's Single Ladies, and the ending group song "Happiness" from You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, participants and audience members alike enjoyed the night of theatre-themed performances and routines. All in all, each new SAU Theatre student should feel extremely proud of their performance, and we hope to see each and every one of them stay active in the theatre department here at St. Ambrose. Who knows, maybe those students can do this whole thing again in four years...except this time it'll be called the "Senior Showcase!"
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