A star is born (OK, lots of stars....)

Chrisena Ricci, center, sings accompanied by, from left, Jaimie Keith, Denise Saylor, Sarah G. Vincent and Sydney Turner during rehearsal Thursday for the Stephens College Summer Theatre Institute musical revue. Photo by Irene Rojas, The Missourian

Our expectations are shaped by our experiences.

For hundreds of you who arrived at the Playhouse Theatre last night for Stephens' annual Summer Theatre Institute's Musical Revue, the show was exactly what you knew it would be:

Entertaining.

Energetic.

Extraordinary.

That's just how we do it at Stephens (and just to be clear, that would be the royal we; truth is, I can't even begin to imagine how they do it, but I'm more than happy to be associated with it nonetheless...).

But for somebody new to the Playhouse, and the STI, it was more than that. 

It was an affirmation of the possible:  Put 33 young women together for six weeks; expect that they will work 12 hours a day in the merciless heat; demand that they explore and extend their talents and skills; infuse in them the confidence of accomplishment; and set them loose on a stage in front of a full house.  And what do you get?

You get magic.

You get 90 minutes of pure, exuberant energy and talent.

You get professionalism.

And you get proof positive of the powerful connectedness among women, a public expression of the shared memories from which lifetime friendships are forged.

In short, you get Stephens.

My personal thanks and congratulations go out to those 29 women who reminded us last night of what star quality really means -- for a Stephens woman:

Rhea Amos
Melissa Boatright
Brittany Braswell
Stephanie Chapman
Contessa Deffenderfer
Miriam Gossett
Erin Hanson
Nicole Hietter
KT Hill
Katie Huffman
Ashlee James
Rachel Joslin
Jaimie Keith
Laura Kline
Cat Lentz
Lauren Maslanik
Jenny Massey-Brown
Kathryn McKellar
Elaina O'Neal
Chrisena Ricci
Denise Saylor
Kylie Stack
Sascha Streckel
Sydney Turner
Cait-Elise Vandiver
Sarah Vincent
Gillian West
Michelle Wilke
Caitlin Zimmer

And to the production team:
Brandy Bell (stage manager/lighting design)
Emily Swenson (lighting design)
Lia Neitzert (sound design)
Amanda Carroll (set/prop production)

And my gratitude and deep respect to those faculty and staff, who inspire, challenge, educate, and encourage each and every one of our Stephens stars:

Dan Schultz (artistic director)
Erik Gratton (associate director)
Rob Doyen (musical theatre director)
Millie Garvey (musical choreographer)
Heather Hillhouse-Deans (technical director)
P.J. Davis (costume designer)
Cheryl Nichols (musical coordinator)
Patti Doyle (costuming instructor)
Marie Brannigan Robertson (dance instructor)
Maggie Dethrow (dance instructor)
Ruth Ann Burke (business instructor)
Kat Thomas (residence director)
Kathy Vogt (administrative support)
Rusty Elder (percussion)

Next time, I'll know what to expect from all of these amazing and dedicated people.

I'll expect magic.

And now I know that they'll deliver it.

Comments

[Lee Lewis]

I wanna come next year.... Lee

[Ashley]

As a recent Stephens alum, I really appreciate this blog. Change is good but often difficult; to see you so involved and communicating with everyone is a great comfort. I hope you keep this up once the academic year begins.

[KS Jones]

I am enjoying every sentence of your blog..........can't wait for each and every new entry - you are a funny and wonderful writer.

[Sydney Turner]

President Lynch!

Thank you so much for coming and supporting us at our final STI performance! It was so cool to get to know you at Tower during STI and I can't wait to be back at school to get to know you better! But mostly I want to thank you for knowing me by name. For someone with as much going on as you do right now, the fact that you greeted me after the review by name absolutely blew my mind! It made me feel special, and showed me that you care about each and every one of your students. THANK YOU! See you in the fall!!

:)
Sydney Turner