Theatre Students Set to Perform at Stroudsmoor Tree Lighting Celebration

Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on November 29, 2016, No Comments

More than 30 students from East Stroudsburg University’s student theatre organizations, Stage II and the Musical Theatre Organization (MTO), will be participating in the annual Tree Lighting ceremony at Stroudsmoor Country Inn on Sunday, December 4.

In addition to playing various characters and singing carols during the day-long festivities, the ESU students will be presenting the Living Nativity at 5:30 p.m. A complete list of the day’s events can be found at www.stroudsmoor.com under Events and Holidays; Tree Lighting Celebration.

“It is a great opportunity for ESU to contribute to the community at such an important and well attended event, and we’re honored to be asked back,” said ESU Theatre Professor and Chair Margaret Ball, D.M.A., who will be directing the Living Nativity. “This is the first year the pageant will feature live animals,” Ball added, “and working with animals is always interesting.”

“I’m looking forward to playing Mother Goose,” said Sophia Thompson, a senior from Etters, Pa., with a double major in musical theatre and in communication sciences and disorders.

“Reading stories to children is one of my favorite things to do because it combines both of my majors,” Thompson added, “and hearing stories read aloud also encourages literacy and language.”

Thompson, who previously played Raggedy Ann and sang at the event, noted that the children enjoyed having a life-sized doll walking around with them. “It was fun to participate in the Christmas season with the local community,” she said.

Senior Dontel Ducksworth, a theatre major with concentrations in musical theatre and acting for theatre, television and film from East Stroudsburg, is returning to the event for the third time. When he played Captain America, Ducksworth found that “some of the children really believed that you are a superhero. I had little kids trying to beat me up.”

“Children are a performer’s best critic,” Ducksworth commented, “and it’s always a good choice for an actor to perform for them. The experience has been enjoyable every year because it’s all about people coming together.”

Ball, who has been involved with the event for four years, remembers “the year we sang outside in the middle of a snow storm while the fireworks were going off. It was just beautiful to look at; even if it was a bit cold.”

“The students get a chance to put the theory they learn in all their classes into practice,” Ball added, “such as character development, working in front of a live audience, improvisational skills and singing. This is an excellent service-learning opportunity for our students and it also is a lot of fun.”