Student Blog: Musical Theatre Melts the Ice - Frosty's World #19

The New Year brings a new Frosty from the snow-covered sunrise over Baldwin Wallace University's Kamm Hall.

The most exciting aspect of my new semester has been the opportunity to work with the staff at Cleveland's Playhouse Square as part of my Senior Experience course. For over a decade, Baldwin Wallace University has collaborated closely with Playhouse Square -- partnering on spring musicals and other programming throughout the year. The biggest Broadway touring shows grace Playhouse Square's largest stages -- there are 11 performance spaces in total. All this takes place just a few miles up the road from our campus.

My class group has been assigned to develop marketing and promotional content under the guidance of Stephanie Keefer, Senior Manager of Broadway Marketing and Publicity at Cleveland's Playhouse Square. It is a real privilege to participate in content design and development under such accomplished musical theater professionals. In later posts, I hope to share more exciting news about spring performances and castings!

It was great to learn that former BroadwayWorld student blogger and recent Baldwin Wallace University graduate Isabella Schiavon made her way to Broadway! She is working behind the scenes for Aaron Sorkin's To Kill a Mockingbird. Producer Orin Wolf, a native of Cleveland, hired Schiavon as a producing fellow for the sold-out reopening at the Belasco Theatre. Schiavon's story is interesting and inspiring. She transferred from a partner university in Brazil to our University, and completed her degree in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship despite travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic in 2020. Isabella supported my start as a Broadway World blogger and helped me integrate the work into my academic portfolio. Thanks, Isabella -- your future is brighter than the sun shining on the Strosacker Student Union!

A few years ago, I encountered Cleveland's Refresh Collective's hip hop performance at a multicultural arts event on the Baldwin Wallace Campus. I've kept in touch ever since. Last week, a virtual happy hour sponsored by this community non-profit brought some outstanding hip hop music and some good news. Jeffery Allen, a Director of Arts Education for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, joined the Zoom to celebrate Refresh Collective's enormous impact on local students. For all of you Hamilton and In the Heights fans, Refresh Collective is a local community service non-profit that reaches inner city youth through the magic of hip hop, graphic arts and apparel design. Over ten years, 10,000 students have benefitted from their classroom programs and camps. Last summer, I was privileged to intern with this organization, in the role of grant writing and social media intern. The good news -- we hit a home run with one of our grant submissions from last summer! They are dedicated and deserving community arts educators. The next Lin Manuel Miranda is probably being trained as I write!

I've been obsessed with Sankoff and Hein's Come from Away since 2018, when I stalked the box office of the Royal Alexandra Theater for extra single seat tickets during its sellout 855 performance run in Toronto. Where better to soak up Newfoundland pride than in Canada! I had a much easier time accessing the Broadway stage performance through the miracle of streaming last week. My family stayed warm in front of the television and enjoyed the streamed tape of the original Broadway cast performance. I'm always good for a heartwarming tale of people helping people, whether it's an air traffic emergency or a pandemic. Petrina Bromley and De'Lon Grant give stellar performances!

On January 19th, a spectacular Zoom conversation featured Andrea Koehler of Coloring Broadway, Lauren Van Hemert of Beltline to Broadway and Michael Clarkston from the Broadway Makers Marketplace. The theme was, of course, Steven Spielberg's West Side Story movie. I broke out the colored markers while listening to the lively discussion about the original Broadway production. Clarkson discussed his involvement with the Chita Rivera Awards. Named after the iconic West Side Story Anita, these awards honor and recognize dance and choreographic excellence on Broadway, Off-Broadway and in film. I"m not Claude Monet but I can stay between the lines!

Time to pull out the snow boots and head for the ultimate prize. Tater tots at the Baldwin Wallace Union Cafeteria. No better way to celebrate being on campus!

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