BHS Presents: Songs for a New World

Maddie Cooper is a senior at Batavia High School, and is thrilled to be a part of the fourth and final musical of her high school theater career! Her previous shows include The Spongebob Musical, 42nd Street, and Mean Girls. She is so grateful for all the friends and memories she has made in the past four years, and is proud of all the hard work everyone put into the show. She’d like to thank the show’s directors and choreographer, along with everyone in the cast and crew for bringing it to life. She hopes you enjoy the show!

Kate Streepey is a senior at Batavia High School, and Songs for a New World is her 9th show at BHS. She can’t wait for everyone to hear all the beautiful music in this show and experience the uniqueness of a black box musical. She also would like to thank all the parent volunteers who made this show possible. Enjoy the show!

Lucy is a junior and is thrilled to be a part of this amazing and unique production. She would like to thank the wonderful cast, crew, pit and production team for working so hard to make this show a reality. Enjoy!

Mac is a senior and she is very excited to be doing her 9th show with BHS. She would like to thank everyone who has helped to give her the opportunity to perform. She would also like to thank the audience for coming. She hopes that you enjoy the performance!

Sarah Anderson is a senior at BHS, and she has always loved the arts, particularly singing and dancing. She’s thrilled to finally be part of her first musical, though she wishes she had joined sooner! This experience has been eye-opening, and she feels grateful for the talented and friendly cast and crew who have welcomed her. Sarah also wants to thank her parents for their unwavering support; she knows she wouldn’t be here without them. She hopes you enjoy the show!

Lia Woods (Just One Step/Surabaya-Santa) Lia is a sophomore at Batavia High School and is very excited to part of this year’s musical. Her favorite past show has been Heathers (Heather McNamara). She is also a member of the drama club, Swingsingers and Chromatics. Her other hobbies include drawing, reading, and hanging out with her friends. She would like to thank her family for coming to every show and always supporting her, as well as the amazing directors and cast of Songs for a New World.

Lane Is a Junior and Is glad to be a part of Songs For A New World. His past shows include The Monster: A Frankenstein Tale, And Mean Girls. This is his Fifth show with the BHS Drama Program, and is happy to make an Impact on Drama Program and BHS. He’d like to dedicate his performance to his supporters and hope you enjoy the show!

Charlotte is a junior and this is her third musical at BHS! She is so excited for you to see all the hard work everyone has put in and she hopes you love it!

Sama Taha (Ensemble)

Sama Taha is in the tenth grade and attends Batavia High School. This is her thirteenth musical of all time. She is elated to be in Batavia’s production of Songs for a New World. She is also in Swingsingers and But Seriously Folks. She would like to thank the stupendous cast and team for making this show possible, along with her family and friends for being so supportive.

Caroline Katich  is a freshman and is so excited to perform in her first show at Batavia High School. The other shows she’s done are She Kills Monsters, The Lightning Thief, Xanadu, and Madagascar Jr. Some of Caroline’s other hobbies are rollerskating, drawing, and hanging out with friends. She has had so much fun working on this show and hopes you enjoy it just as much as she does!

Arianna is a sophomore at BHS, this is her first musical at the high school. She hopes you enjoy the show.

Wyatt Berryhill, a junior at BHS, is excited to be performing in songs for a new world. He began his theater journey in the fourth grade and has since been involved in Batavia Theater and Stage Works in Geneva. Wyatt’s roles include Mary Poppins (Neleus), Annie (Daddy Warbucks), High School Musical (Coach Bolton), and Mean Girls (Damian). In addition to acting, Wyatt is a producer and songwriter under the alias “Wyatt HilloBerries” and is well-known around school for his music. He would like to thank his mom, Geneva theater friends, and everyone who supports his music.

Grace Elftmann (The Flagmaker, 1775) is a junior at Batavia High School. This is her first production at BHS, but her 10th musical overall! This includes The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, Aladdin, and Finding Nemo. Grace would like to thank the wonderful everyone involved in the drama program for being so welcoming. She also wants to specifically thank her friends Joy and Charlotte for encouraging her to audition for this show, and her parents and sister (Aimee, Eric, and Gwen) for being the best family she could ever ask or hope for.

Kaia Olberg is a junior at BHS. She has been in theater her whole life and this will be her 5th show at Batavia! She is so grateful for this wonderful learning opportunity, and would like to thank everyone that made it possible! She hopes you enjoy the show!

Lexie is so excited for the show! She is a senior at BHS and is heavily involved in the drama department. Songs for a New World is her 9th production at BHS and 6th as a member of the stage management team. She would like to thank her fellow Stage Managers, Senithi and Lauren, for all of their time and dedication over the rehearsal process. She would also like to thank her family for all of their support. Break a leg everyone!

Lauren Smith is a senior at Batavia High School and this is her 6th show at BHS and 5th on the stage management team. She would like to thank the other stage managers, Senithi and Lexie, and all the actors who put so much time and effort into this musical. She is very excited for everyone to hear the beautiful music and voices in Songs for a New World, and enjoy the show!

Senithi Hewamanage is a junior and this is her 5th show at the high school, but 6th show overall. She is so excited to be stage managing for a musical for the first time, and can’t wait to for you all to see the hard work everyone has put into these performances. Enjoy the show!

This is Gianna’s 5th show at the BFAC. She’d like to thank her friends and family for encouraging her to join crew. She hopes you enjoy the show!

Sarrinah is a sophomore and is excited to be working behind the scenes on this year’s fall musical. She has previously been a part of last year’s musical, Mean Girls, and spring play, Frankensteins, but this year’s musical is her debut as Props Master. In her free time, she enjoys binging TV shows and spending time with her friends and family. Cheers to an amazing show!

Tommy Gray is a guitarist currently taking residence in Batavia, Illinois. He is a prolific jazz and jazz fusion guitarist, however he also dabbles in the occasional thrash metal song. Some of his favorite artists include Casiopea, Jeff Buckley, and Ghost, Masayoshi Takanaka, and Julian Lage. He has been playing guitar “seriously” for about 4+ years, and currently plans to attend a college for music education or performance, with an emphasis on jazz guitar.

Jackson Jonak is a freshman at BHS, and this is his first time playing an instrument for a musical. He has a love for musical theater and piano, and found the best of both worlds by joining the pit! He hopes you enjoy the production!

Jonah Tesdall is excited to play piano for the musical. This is his second year doing the musical, and will hopefully continue in years to come. He has been playing piano since he was 7 and has been looking for more ways to get involved with playing piano at the school. He would like to thank his friends and family for being supportive with his musical endeavors, and thank all of my band and music teachers for helping me on this journey.

Dominic Is a Batavia native, graduating from BHS in 1999, at which point he attended Illinois Wesleyan University, where he earned a BFA in Theatre Arts. Following a short stint as a freelance director, he settled in Quincy Illinois at Quincy Community Theatre and served as their Director of Student Theatre and Head of Education from 2003-2005 at which time he transitioned to the position of CEO and Managing Artistic Director from 2005 – January of 2011. Dominic has also been appointed and served a three-year term with the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and served as an adjunct professor of Theatre Arts and Acting with Hannibal-LaGrange University from 2008 to 2010. A Theatrical Dominic met his wife Miranda on stage in Grease and they have four children, Brayden, Delaney, Mirabella, and Bianca.

Directing Credits Include: The Sound of Music, Urinetown, The Producers, Little Shop of Horrors (twice), Miracle on 34th Street, Steel Magnolias, Jesus Christ Superstar, On Golden Pond, The Graduate, Chicago, Little Brother, Lucky Stiff, Forever Plaid, Footloose, The Importance of Being Earnest, All Shook Up, Jake’s Women, Everybody, Death of a Salesman, Lost in Yonkers, Shrek, Beauty and the Beast, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, I Never Saw Another Butterfly, Dear Edwina, The Theory of Relativity, 9 to 5 The Musical, Arsenic and Old Lace, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Bridge to Terabithia, I Do! I Do! and many more. He is also the founding Director and coach for But Seriously, Folks… improv troupe founded in 2003.

Awards & Reccognition
* West Central Illinois 20 Under 40 recipient
* Individual Artist recipient for Wes Central Illinois?SouthEastern Iowa/North Eastern Missouri
* Arts Educator of the year – 2009
* Enid Ireland Award
* Batavia/Geneva/St. Charles 30 Under 30 recipient
* Batavia Hall of Honor

Peter Barsch teaches all curricular and co-curricular choirs at Batavia High School. Mean Girls marks his 20th show as Music Director. In addition to the last nine years of BHS shows, he has worked on Les Miserables, Ragtime, Beauty and the Beast, Into the Woods, The Producers, and more. Mr. Barsch holds a Master’s Degree in Music Education from NIU and two Bachelor’s Degrees from the Honors Program at Loyola University Chicago. Mr. Barsch has been listed in “Who’s Who among America’s Teachers” and was a Quarter-Finalist for the Grammy “Music Educator of the Year” Award. Mr. Barsch and his wife, Annie, live in Batavia with their three children.

Jayden is a Senior and very excited to be the Student Music Director for this show! He thanks Mr. Barsch for allowing him help, and hopes you enjoy the show!

Kyle Donahue is thrilled to be working with the great cast and artistic team of songs for a new world! He has loved choreographing previous BHS productions of Mean Girls, 42^nd Street, Spongebob, Theory of Relativity, Mamma Mia, Chicago, and Cats!  He has choreographed and performed around the world on regional theatre, theme park and cruise ship stages. Some choreography credits include Pippin, Legally Blonde, Grease, All Shook Up, Oklahoma!, and Forever Plaid.  In the Chicagoland area, Kyle has been seen on stage at Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook, Steel Beam Theatre, Fox Valley Ballet, and New American Theatre, and has choreographed for Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, North Riverside Players, Fox Valley Repertory, Rockford University, and College of DuPage. He serves as the Assistant Superintendent of Recreation at the Geneva Park District, and resides locally with his beautiful wife Julie and their four kiddos Lulu, Lincoln, Finn and River. He sends a big thank you to Dominic for this opportunity and the cast and artistic team for their hard work and dedication!