"The theatre is so endlessly fascinating because it's so accidental. It's so much like life."
- Arthur Miller
Summer is waning, but Encore has been busy! Read all about whats new & good in the latest edition of the Encore Newsletter!
In This Edition
- Commencement 2024
- Spring Show - Melancholy Play
- Summer Alumni Service Day Recap
- S&B Website Preview
- Interview with S&B Website Team
- Homecoming 2024 Events
- Student & Alumni News
- Engage With Encore
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Commencement 2024
Elizabethtown College held its 121st Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 11, 2024 at 10 a.m. in the Dell, which served as a remarkable celebration of the accomplishments of both traditional students and School of Graduate and Professional Studies students. Check out some of the highlights from our 2024 Commencement below!
Brianna Wiest ’13, a bestselling author and Elizabethtown College alumna, was the the 2024 Commencement speaker. As a student, Wiest was the Etownian’s editor-in-chief and graduated in three years with a degree in English Professional Writing and a minor in Gender Studies.
Her journey in writing began over a decade ago, leading to several bestsellers, including "101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think" and "The Mountain Is You". Her works, translated into 30+ languages and selling over a million copies worldwide, focus on empowerment, self-reflection, and healing. Her latest book, "The Pivot Year", has gained international acclaim.
The complete Commencement recap is available here!
Congratulations to these Class of 2024 members who have been involved with theatre at Etown:
Top Row: Joe Arlands, Stage crew for a variety of Etown productions - Meghan Hampton, Scene Shop staff, Production Technician, One Acts Performer, APO Director 2023-2024, Dudard in Rhinoceros - Zakiyah Grayson, APO Business manager 2023-2024, Mary in The Language Archive, Cabaret Performer, Fireman/Waitress in Rhinoceros, Ronette in Little Shop of Horrors, Emotion Dancer
Middle Row: Ellie Barley, One Acts Performer, Cabaret Performer, Grocer in Rhinoceros, Mad Cow Performing member, Emotion Dancer - Evan Vaughn: Mad Cow President and performing member, APO member - Judas Foster, Frank in Melancholy Play, Cabaret performer, Old Man/Zamenof in The Language Archive, Papillon/Old Gentleman in Rhinoceros, Student Director for Alice in Wonderland, Elmer/Grotto Good/Third String in Still Life with Iris, ASM for Little Shop of Horrors, Sock and Buskin President 23-24, Vice President 22-23, APO member, Mad Cow performing member
Bottom Row: Lindsay McCommons, Costume Designer for Melancholy Play, Old Man(Baker) in The Language Archive, Logician in Rhinoceros, Alice in Alice and Wonderland, APO Member - Jasmine Romano, Emotion Dancer, APO member
Not Pictured: Emma Mesko, Costume Mentor for Melancholy Play and The Language Archive, Student Co-Director and Lighting Designer for Rhinoceros, Costume Designer for Alice in Wonderland, Assistant Costume Designer for Still Life With Iris, Assistant Costume Designer and Dresser for Little Shop of Horrors, APO Director 22-23, Cabaret Performer
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Melancholy Play
Elizabethtown College’s Tempest Theatre presented “Melancholy Play,” written by Sarah Ruhl, for the spring mainstage production. The show ran for two weekends in March and was an amazing event for theatre-goers as well as the production staff and students.
“Despite the play’s title, ‘Melancholy’ is anything but,” Student Director Emily “Em” Clark said. “It is a charming, funny show that will keep you on the edge of your seat!”
A romantic comedy accompanied by live music, “Melancholy Play” tells the story of a bank teller named Tilly, whose sadness is a siren song to all who witness it, and every stranger she meets falls in love with her. One day, Tilly becomes happy and everyone around her sees it as a tragedy and it is up to her to save them from the fallout.
Written by Gavin Ross ’27 ,Rosalie Kareha ’26, and Jayden Ryan ’26
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Etown Theatre Summer Service Day 2024
On July 13th, Encore held our summer service day on campus. It was a fun and productive day with familiar faces and a few new ones!! The day was shared with a college Open House, making it a fantastic opportunity to show prospective students how dedicated current students and alums are to the performing arts. We are looking forward to another service day during the Sunday of Homecoming Weekend.
We tackled a few projects around the theatre & offices with an amazing team of Alumni volunteers with graduation years ranging from 1990 through 2024!
The hallway outside of the Green Room now displays show posters from Gint (Fall 2007) to Melancholy Play (Spring 2024) with room to grow. A few damaged and missing posters were corrected in the display covering the Sevareid years by the Box Office.
Story Theatre and Merton of the Movies, the first shows that Michael directed at Etown, are now included with posters made from archive materials. We are trying to track down the original show posters. Alums are working on getting us a color version of The Dining Room poster.
The group prepped Kristin Pontz’s dance office for paint and Steph Motz is working on painting the last wall. We started prepping the tech office for some fresh paint as well. We also discovered some great S&B and APO memorabilia.
We spent some time cleaning and organizing the Costume Shop, which opened up extra hanging spots, and prepared the shop for the upcoming school year
Thanks to all who joined us, and we are looking forward to another volunteer day to wrap up Homecoming weekend on September 29th. We hope to see you there!
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Students Create Website to Chronicle Etown's Theatre History
Elizabethtown College has a long tradition of theatre. This site celebrates the contributions of students, faculty, and staff by making available programs, production photographs, posters, scrapbooks, and other materials from the College's Hess Archives and Special Collections.
See some of the great history of Theatre at Etown with this amazing new resource!
Meet the team behind the new College Theatre History Website
Two current students, Emilie Brinser & Jordyn Dutko are working on their public heritage certificate which prepares students with historical knowledge, research skills, and hands-on practical experience with a focus on preparation for graduate study and/or employment in the field of public heritage. Part of this project included making a website to locate Etown theatre memories and memorabilia into one place.
The students described the process as tedious when trying to figure what to include on the website. While there was a lot of information to go through, they knew they wanted to include posters, and then decided to include pieces of information they thought was interesting and could tell the story of Etown theatre. One of the things that drew their attention was a notebook from the 1930s which had the first meeting notes of the club Sock and Buskin.
The hope for the website is for alumni who were involved with theatre to be able to reminisce, connect with peers, and help students with any research they are working on. Emilie finds the time spent on the project to be a great one as she got to actually get into the archives and not just see photos of it. For Jordyn, it is now something they are considering for the future and loved working with Emilie on this project.
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Etown Celebrates 20th Anniversary of First Theatre Majors along with 125th Anniversary of the College
This year's Homecoming and Family Weekend is full of amazing events! Grab some carrot cake from the Jay's Nest, and join us for one, or all!
29th Annual Homecoming Parade and Homecoming Day Kick-Off
With floats constructed by current students and staff members, live music, alumni celebrating class reunions, local volunteer fire companies, businesses, and loads of candy, this time-honored and beloved Etown tradition—celebrating its 29th consecutive year—is sure to please! At the conclusion of the Parade, President Betty Rider will officially kick off Homecoming Day in front of Raffensperger Alumni House.
Theatre Alumni Reunion Featuring the West Side Story 30th Anniversary Celebration
The tradition of theatre at Etown runs deep, dating back to at least 1932 when Sock and Buskin was founded. We are taking the opportunity to honor some remarkable milestones of Theatre during our 125th celebrations this weekend! Join alumni and friends in the Tempest Theatre to reconnect around this shared experience. Be sure to stop by before 4 p.m. to grab your seat to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Etown’s West Side Story production. A gathering of celebration, reflection, and inspiration, members of the original WSS show will lead a conversation about the show, how it impacted theatre at Etown, and how things have changed in the time since the production. There will also be time to honor Michael Sevareid and Elizabethtown Theatre past and present. This is an event you will surely not want to miss!
Theatre Alumni and Friends Fall Service Day
Join alumni, students, and Etown community members as they come together to assist with projects around the Tempest Theatre! Whether it’s assisting with set building, organizing the tech booth, or repairing props and costumes, this day of service helps to reconnect alumni and friends with the campus and allows theatre to thrive at Etown! This event is sponsored by Etown’s Theatre alumni affinity group Encore.
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Student & Alumni News
'24/'25 Season Announced
Earlier in the summer, a soft announcement of While the Lights Were Out by Jack Sharkey as the Fall show was made. A pre-production meeting was held with the director and some concerns were discussed. After much thought and discussion, it was decided to move in a different direction. While the Lights Were Out is a great script. However, it is not the best show to match our current resources and talents. We hope to keep it on the short list for future shows.
Kristin presented the group with Rumors by Neil Simon, that had been mentioned by the selection committee a few rounds ago. It fits the bill, better meets our current pool of talent and resources, and has stronger name recognition. Audtions will be held on September 4th and 5th in the Tempest.
Discussions about the Spring production have also progressed with a show that meets the student request’s for Shakespeare. Griffin Yeyna will return to direct a show that will perfectly tie into the college’s 125th anniversary celebration. It has been produced by Etown several times within those 125 years and was, in 1934, one of the earliest S&B shows.
Fall 2024 Production
Rumors by Neil Simon
Directed by Kristin Wolanin with Sarah Jakubowski as Assistant Student Director
Spring 2025 Production
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Directed by Griffin Yeyna with Madison "Rocky" Stewart as Assistant Student Director
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Engage With Encore
Look At Us!
Want to learn more about Encore? Visit our official Elizabethtown College Alumni Association site!
Talk With Us!
Have specific questions? Curious about our upcoming projects and productions? Want to get in touch with one of the members of our Steering Committee? Interested in getting involved with what we’re doing? Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera? E-mail us and we’ll be more than happy to connect with you!
Give Us Your Opinions!
Feedback from fellow alumni and current students is the foundation on which Encore builds and plans its future. If you feel compelled, please take our completely voluntary survey to share a little bit about yourself and your interests regarding Encore’s future programming. We’re so excited to hear from you!
Join Us and Get Involved!
If you or a fellow Etown alum feels inspired to join our ranks and support our cause, we’re all about it! Send us an e-mail at etownencore@gmail.com! Be sure to include any special skills that will come in handy when tackling our future projects!