Chanley Patterson is a freshman at Louisiana Tech University double majoring in Liberal Arts (Vocal Performance) and Human Development & Family Science. Chanley literally grew up on the Strauss Youth Academy for the Arts stage and, between SYAA, Ruston Community Theatre, and Strauss Main Stage, has been in over 40 productions. Her first lead role was that of Annie in SYAA’s production of Annie. The last two years have been especially full of fantastic opportunities. Chanley was cast as Elsa in Frozen, Jr., Meg March in Little Women the Musical, Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Jr., Ariel in The Little Mermaid, Mayzie La Bird in Seussical the Musical, Jr., Kathy Seldin in Singin’ in the Rain, Jr., and was able to wrap up her high school career with her dream role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde the Musical this past August. Chanley was Amaryllis in Strauss Main Stage’s production of The Music Man under the direction of Scot Baronet and is thrilled to get to work with him again in Nunsense!
Tickets for Nunsense are available at our ticket site now! The show opens on January 13th and runs through the 22nd.
Emily Stogner is a NELA native and fell in love with the theater during Strauss’ production of State Fair in the 90s. She knew then that theater would be a part of her life. She started her acting career in Winnsboro’s Princess Theater production of Annie and has been on the stage since. Emily has also starred in leading roles in Into the Woods as Jack’s Mother, Oklahoma! as Ado Annie, and Strauss’ 90th season opener, Disaster!, as Jackie Noelle. She works as a Digital Media Specialist and Social Media Director at The Digital People and loves to use her talents to help local businesses thrive in NELA and the surrounding areas. Emily loves to entertain and inspire people through acting and is looking forward to participating in many more Strauss productions in the future!
Tickets for Nunsense are available at our ticket site now! The show opens on January 13th and runs through the 22nd.
Dorothy Benton Donaldson is a retired educator for the Ouachita Parish School system and now works part-time for the Monroe-West Monroe Convention and Visitors Bureau. Dorothy has been in productions at the Strauss Little Theatre since the 1980’S. She was in Kismet, South Pacific, Tintypes and many more. She also participated in Cottonland Christmas. Dorothy is thrilled to be back on the stage under the direction of Scot Baronet.
Tickets for Nunsense are available at our ticket site now! The show opens on January 13th and runs through the 22nd.
Chandler has enjoyed musical theatre from afar for 28 years. Inspired by the notion that interests are better when shared in community, she is making her theater debut! She is the music teacher at a local elementary school during the day and is a mama to two little ones every hour of the night. Chandler hopes to participate in future Strauss productions and is honored to be playing Robert Anne.
Tickets for Nunsense are available at our ticket site now! The show opens on January 13th and runs through the 22nd.
Susan Lacey reprises the role of Mother Superior which she played 30 years ago in a production in Germany. This is her debut at the Strauss Theatre after more than 25 years in teaching graduate nursing at the university level and in leadership roles in hospitals and associations. Dr. Lacey is currently a Professor and Endowed Chair for Nursing at the Kitty DeGree School of Nursing at the University of Louisiana, Monroe. She is honored to be chosen to work with this talented group of actors, director, and staff in this year’s production of Nunsense.
Tickets for Nunsense are available at our ticket site now! The show opens on January 13th and runs through the 22nd.
With the Christmas holiday fast approaching, the cast of our upcoming production of Nunsense needed to get fitted for their costumes. As all theatre lovers know, trying on your costumes ahead of time is a good habit to form! By the look of these photos, it’s clear these ladies had a fabulous time with costumer Cassey Bernstein.
Tickets for Nunsense are on sale now! Visit our ticket page now to reserve your seats.
Rehearsals for our next mainstage production are underway. The casts of Nunsense have moved into their new home, the STAGE! These fantastic ladies are already sounding show ready as they begin to embody the Little Sisters of Hoboken. Tickets for Nunsense will go on sale in “just a coupl’a” weeks, so stay tuned to our social media for announcements. Nunsense will run from January 13-16 and 20-22.
Have you ever laughed so much that you started to tear up a little bit? The cast of The Man Who Came to Dinner experienced just that at rehearsal this week. With cockroaches, penguins, convicts, and singing choir boys flooding the Stanley residence, it was only a matter of time before the chaos cracked our actors. When three powerhouse comedic actors shared the stage on Monday, it was game over.
As seen pictured, Sherry (John Reynolds) and Maggie (Taylor Nelson) are delightfully reacting to Beverly’s (Troy Wold) spirited impersonation of Lord Bottomley. Not seen pictured are the remaining cast and crew laughing from backstage and in the audience. What’s so hysterical about this impression? You’ll have to see the show to find out.
Tickets for The Man Who Came to Dinner are on sale now for patrons and members. Tickets will open to the public soon.
We are one week closer to the opening of our second production, The Man Who Came to Dinner. Rehearsals continue on as our actors maneuver their ever-growing set. In this sneak peek, Sherry (John Reynolds), in a rare showing of amiability, gives June (Darian Hodge) advice on her forbidden romance. Will she obey her father or marry her unionizer beau? You’ll have to see the show to find out.
Tickets for The Man Who Came to Dinner will be on sale soon! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates!
With our first show of the season out of the way, the cast of The Man Who Came to Dinner has already taken the stage to begin rehearsals. Directors Cassey Bernstein & Moira O’Connor have assembled an eager cast (cast announcement coming soon!) of volunteers ready to bring this classic comedy to our community.
Fast-paced timing is the name of the game with this show, so blocking is this week’s major task. Characters constantly enter and exit throughout the scripts first few pages. As seen in the picture, everyone had a brief moment to collect themselves before Sherry begins firing off insults.
The Man Who Came to Dinner is our second production of our historic 90th season of continuous live theatre. This show opens to our community in early November!
