White Christmas
WHO'S WHO
Sponsored by:
Thank you for coming to see the show! We are excited to present this challenging and fun show to an audience. A huge thank you to the wonderful cast that have committed long hours in rehearsals, the crew that has been tirelessly working, and both cast and crew that have dedicated themselves to make this show happen.
I appreciate our steadfast crew members who have returned: MaryBelle Tuten, Karen Pittman, DeMarcus Mitchell, and David Kaul. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with new crew members too, namely Scot Baronet, choreographer and Melanie Lawrence, stage manager. Scot has been a pleasure, working intensely with our dancers for many hours. Melanie has brought a sharp knowledge and fresh perspective as our stage manager. She has been invaluable in being sure all the bases are covered.
In the words of the General: “as they say in the theatre, on with the show!”
A native and resident of Minden, Nathan Richardson serves as the principal of Webster Junior High School in his hometown and the pastor of the New Home Baptist Church in Taylor, LA, and so enjoys witnessing the opportunity that the Ruston community provides its youth to explore and grow in the performing arts.
A sophomore at Louisiana Tech University, Riley is majoring in Piano Performance with a secondary in Voice. He's currently playing piano in the jazz and pop music ensembles on campus. He's also a long time performer in RCT, performing in Fiddler on the Roof, Cinderella, Elf, and many more
Anna is a freshman at Louisiana Tech and she is grateful to be able perform in her first show with RCT. Some of her favorite past roles include Donna in Mamma Mia and Deloris in Sister Act, and she is excited to bring the role of Betty to life. She would like to thank her family, her friends, and RCT for this opportunity!
Chanley Patterson is a senior at Louisiana Tech University and has been on the stage since the age of seven. She has played roles such as Tessie in Annie, Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, and Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie in Steel Magnolias. Theatre has been a love for Chanley her entire life, and it is a JOY to be on the stage with some of her dearest friends in Ruston!
Mark's introduction to theatre came while building sets for the youth summer musicals. His first on-stage experience was in the first production of A Christmas Carol in 2017, and has had parts in several plays over the past few years and continues to build sets for some of the plays presented by RCT. Mark works in commercial real estate and development.
This will be Anna's 12th RCT production. She has been on stage performing since she was a child. Anna lives in Ruston and is married to Josh. They have 3 kids, Ayden, Audrey Anna, and Anderson. She teaches Talented Art at DWCS. Some of her favorite rolls have been Marion in Music Man, Mrs. Brill in Mary Poppins, and Marilla in Anne of Green Gables.
Esther, a theatre loving 10 year old, is excited to be cast as Susan. Her previous RCT roles include Molly in Annie, Gladys in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and The Little Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland. Outside theatre, Esther enjoys reading, singing, playing piano and designing dresses.
Elijah has been doing plays since Beauty And The Beast Jr. and since then has played roles like Oz, Neleus, and Jafar and plans to do many more.
Chloë Alexander is a Music Industry Studies major at Louisiana Tech University. She has been on the Dixie stage in various forms since she was seven years old. Chloë wishes you a Merry Christmas and hopes you enjoy the show!
Rebekah Heiden is a Senior at Louisisana Tech majoring in Music Education. Rebekah has been involved at RCT for many years both on and off the stage. She honored to be part of White Christmas and hopes you all have a very Merry Christmas!
John Davis has been doing shows with the RCT for around 10 years. This is his first play with the RCT in a little while, but he is SO excited to be back on the stage! John Davis hopes you enjoy White Christmas!
Ben, who is fifteen, loves to listen to classic rock and is also fond of his dog and siblings, (sometimes.) He likes Civil Air Patorl, theatre, writing and thinks that long speeches should be considered war crimes (he would know; he has committed many himself.) He is also very good-looking, and you should definitely point that out if you cross him in the hall.
Sandee has been in 11 previous RCT productions, and she was most recently seen in the ensemble of Fiddler on the Roof and as Marilla Cuthbert in Anne of Green Gables. She is grateful to do something she loves, and she thanks her family for their support.
My name is Lillia Parnell and this is my third show that I have done with Ruston Community Theater. I performed in RCT's Fiddler on The Roof and Cinderella.
Ani is a computer science major at Louisiana Tech. She has a passion for the creative arts and is getting back to her childhood passion of theater with White Christmas.
Kaitlin has been involved in RCT since 2017 and has been in 15 productions since. Some of her favorite roles have been the ensemble in The Music Man, Mrs. Mayor in Seussical Jr., and a chimney sweep in Mary Poppins. She studies Communication Media at BPCC and hopes to pursue a career in musical theater or film. She hopes you enjoy the show and wishes you a Merry Christmas!
This is Elizabeth Durbin's first play with RCT, and she hopes to make you fall in love with White Christmas like she has. Elizabeth is a Business Analyst and Project Manager for IBM. She is an avid cook and animal lover.
Luke Forbes is a fun-loving thirteen year old who enjoys watching movies, playing games, and reading. This is his third play. He was a card soldier in Alice in Wonderland and Charlie Bradley in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Luke is glad you are here and hopes you enjoy the show!
White Christmas is Ava’s 8th show with RCT. She is very excited to bring her love of dancing to the show! In her spare time, Ava enjoys playing volleyball, piano, and dance. She is 13 years old and an 8th grader at A.E.Phillips.
I'm so excited to be part of this White Christmas production it's going to Snow jing jing
Gabriel Hibbets is part of the ensemble cast of Ruston Community Theater’s run of White Christmas. This is his first show with RCT, and it certainly won’t be the last. He is 16, homeschooled, and loves old media and antiques, along with philosophy and storytelling.
Keith Kelly II is a senior Music major and Theatre minor at Louisiana Tech University from Metairie. This is his second role in an RCT production, having appeared in Disney's Descendants earlier this year. Though brief, Keith cherishes his time with RCT, and will miss it when he graduates this spring. He hopes to be a theatre director in the future.
Abigail is a freshman in high school and has been involved with Dixie from Wizard of Oz as Toto, to Fiddler on The Roof as ensemble and some shows in between. She loves theatre and is excited for this new season.
This is Scout's eighth show with RCT and her second seasonal production. She has loved all the music and corny jokes in this show, and especially enjoyed working with the wonderful cast and crew. She hopes you enjoy the performance as much as she has enjoyed being a part of it!
Avery is thrilled to be part of her all time favorite show, White Christmas! This is her 6th show with RCT, and you may have seen her as Ruby Gillis in Anne of Green Gables, or Snow White in Descendants. Avery is in 11th grade at Ruston High School, where she is the media coordinator for Bearcat Nation Network. She hopes you enjoy the show as much as she does!
12 year old Kaejha Stewart is funny, full of life, quirky and has an optimistic personality. She meets no stranger and is no stranger to the RCT stage. Since her first show in 2020, she has been in 15 productions. Kaejha loves theater and the friendships that are formed through it. She hopes you enjoy this humorous RCT production to bring in the holiday season.
Isabelle St. Amant is a seventeen-year-old high school senior. White Christmas will be her seventh show with RCT, with her previous roles including Alice in Alice in Wonderland Jr. and Jane in Descendants.
Catherine Williams is a sophomore at Cedar Creek School and is a member of the danceline and State Champion Powerlifting team. She has been a part of many RCT performances, most recently Fiddler on the Roof. She will be competing for Miss Louisiana's Teen in April as Miss Krewe of the Twin Cities' Teen. She hopes you enjoy the show.
Henry is an eight-year old homeschool student with Classical Conversations of Ruston. He enjoys playing with Legos and drawing. This will be his first time participating in a play with RCT.
Dr. Steele Moegle teaches applied piano and music history at Louisiana Tech University. She is currently serving as the Interim Director of the School of Music. On RCT's board, she directed the first youth production for RCT (2016). Since then, she continues to direct a summer youth musical for RCT. Other directing credits include Elf the Musical (2022) and Annie (2024).
This is David's 4th show to design at the Dixie. Previous shows include: Frozen Jr., Shrek, and Annie. He is the Coordinator and Technical Director for the Dept of Theatre at Grambling State. David lives in West Monroe with his wife, Laura, and they have 2 children - Zach and Mallory.
Scot Baronet has been choreographing over forty years. A protege of the famous Bob Fosse, he choreographed for Ice Capades for 27 years. At 14, he made his Broadway debut as Gideon in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. In addition to his choreography experience, Scot also appeared on the Michael Jackson Thriller video and has worked for 20 years with the Strauss in Monroe.
Melanie has been involved with RCT since 2017. She has been on stage in productions such as The Music Man as a Pick-a-Little Lady, and Anne of Green Gables as Mrs. Barry. Melanie has worked off-stage as stage crew, sound, costume assistant, or costumer. When not in Ruston, Melanie teaches history and directs plays in the drama department at Mt. Olive Christian School.
Dr. Nathan Jump is the principal of Mt. Olive Christian School in Athens, LA where he has served as an educator and coach for 25 years. He is a member of the Monroe, South Arkansas, Longview, and Texarkana Symphonies. Nathan regularly plays in community events along I-20 from Monroe to Shreveport. He is the fiddle player for singer Shane Pons, and plays at FBC, Minden.
Alana, a classically trained musician from Shreveport, began playing cello at age 9, later studying music at Centenary College. She’s performed nationwide, from church ensembles to Carnegie Hall. A former radio personality, Alana has passion for creating and teaching music.
Associate Professor of Music Dr. Chris Heidenreich began serving at the Louisiana Tech as Director of Bands in the fall of 2021. He and his wife Beth reside in Ruston, and have two children; Jillian, who is working as a traveling OT; and Daniel, a 1st Lieutenant in the US Air Force currently serving with the 48th Rescue Squadron in Tucson, Arizona.
Jesse is a senior at Louisiana Tech University, pursuing degrees in music and physics. As a trombonist, he has played for Monroe Symphony Orchestra, RussTown Band, the New Music on the Bayou Festival, Elf, Annie, and a plethora of events and ensembles at Tech. While music is a lifelong passion, Jesse intends to pursue higher education as an experimental physicist.
Joseph Boudreaux is a sophomore at Louisiana Tech pursuing his Liberal Arts degree with a concentration in Music Education. He plays drumset for the LA Tech Jazz Ensemble, and performs with the LA Tech Percussion Ensemble, Marching Band, and Symphonic Wind Ensemble. He also regularly performs at popular local restaurants with the student-led organization, Diggin' Dogs.
Matthew is a Sophomore Music Education student at Louisiana Tech University. He plays saxophone in multiple different ensembles at Tech including the University Marching Band, Jazz Ensemble, and Symphonic Wind Ensemble. Matthew looks forward to teaching and spreading the joy of music as a Educator.
Georgia Haneline is a sophomore Computer Information Systems and Liberal Arts Major at Louisiana Tech University. At Tech, she has participated in the Band of Pride, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Fall Wind Ensemble, and Concert Band on both horn and piano. In the future, Georgia would like to pursue a field where music and info-systems can be a dual focus in her life.
Presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals (concordtheatricals.com)
