With both performances sold out, Elon music theatre students performed “Collage” — an annual showcase hosted by the performing arts department.
Yeager Recital Hall — with its 125 seats — was filled with students, faculty and staff, and families visiting for the weekend.
The hour-long performance was directed, arranged, choreographed and music directed entirely by students, according to one of the event’s advisers and professor of performing arts Chris Rayis.
“Collage” is the first Elon show freshmen in the MT program participate in, and sophomore Lauren Trethaway said the tradition was a “melting pot” allowing the different classes to come together.
Many of the songs in “Collage” are from “Grand Night” — a similar performance in the spring. For Trethaway, this made performing in Yeager more memorable since seeing “Grand Night” as a high school student led her to attending Elon.
“Seeing ‘Grand Night’ and the community of performers, I don't know, it brought tears to my eyes,” Trethaway said. “That's how I knew that this is the program that was right for me.”
Susannah Stearns, whose freshman son Laird was one of the performers, said her favorite part of the night was the finale. The full ensemble of students performed together. At the end of the piece, the freshman stood alongside the audience as the seniors and upperclassmen sang to them.
“It was very moving to watch them,” Susannah said.
Freshman Jackie Harris said she came to “Collage” to support her friends in the performance. For Harris, seeing the students come together was uplifting.
“On a lot of college campuses, the arts are overlooked,” Harris said. “It's important to come and support everyone.”
Instant Laughter, a student improv group, will have performances at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 28 in Center for the Arts’ Yeager Recital Hall.
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Reese Williams contributed to the reporting of this story.