In this edition, read about what theater alumni are up to and upcoming events

March 2024

Alumni Share Their Talents and Passion in Student Performance, Bat Boy: The Musical

Read the Stories of the Set Designer and Costume Shop Manager

One Stitch at a Time: Alex (Bell) Holzem ’20 Created Colorful, Lively Costumes

Alex (Bell) Holzem ’20 accepted the challenge to make Bat Boy: The Musical come to life with creative costumes that spoke to the show and the characters' personalities.

She explained that Bat Boy was not a large show, but that each cast member had several costume changes. “Most of the cast of 14 had two to three different looks. That includes a change in dress or pants, shirt, and shoes.” She described how she would alter a dress pattern for an actor, who could go from wearing a 1950s church-appropriate dress to something considered cutesy in its day.

Read more about her work as costume shop designer here.

Distance Not an Obstacle for Teena Sauvola ’08 to design Bat Boy set

Teena Sauvola ’08 earned her BFA in Theatrical Design. She started her career as a theatrical set designer, and worked her way into the themed entertainment industry. She lives in Los Angeles and works as a theme park designer.

She wanted to design a show at the La Croix Black Box Theatre. “It’s one of my favorite spaces,” she said. “They were very kind in helping make that happen. It was lovely to be back on campus and in La Crosse. It was such a formative part of my life.”

Read more about Sauvola's process here.

April Alumni Events

Remembering Linda Balgord ’82

Viterbo alumna Linda Balgord Fenton, 64, passed away on March 5. Balgord starred in many Viterbo productions and then took her talent to the Broadway stage. Read her classmates' tributes here.

Upcoming Alumni Events

Thursday, June 6: First Thursday at Pettibone Boat Club
Sunday, June 16: Milwaukee Brewers Event

View all alumni events here.

Upcoming Campus Events

March 22: Malevo performance
March 23: Service Saturday at Place of Grace
March 26: Unbought, a music theatre piece
March 27: Military Women's history month celebration

April 3: Holocaust lecture with Ida Paluch Kersz
April 5: Everly Set at the Weber Center

View all campus events here.

KEEPING UP
The latest university news can be found on
Viterbo alumni, Fine Arts Center, and V-Hawks athletics pages.

Viterbo in the News page is packed with media reports on university happenings.

View all events on the campus events calendar.

NEWSLETTER
The Viterbo University alumni email newsletter is published eight times per year. The Strides alumni magazine is printed and mailed twice a year (spring and fall), with a digital archive of editions going back to 2011.