Happy audition season! Many are excited for this year’s fall production Descendants, but first, let’s dive into the parade of the past. In recent years, many alumni from the theatre program have graduated and continued to pursue their passion for the arts! Graduates Jack Cipriani (co ’23), Austin Keys (co’24), and Shayla Maxon (co ’24) generously gave their thoughts on their experiences in theatre when they first started versus now.
Jack fell in love with theatre through his first show at Moon Area High School, Little Shop of Horrors. As Freshman understudying (and then taking over full time) the role of Audrey II, he was able to develop work habits that he keeps to this day. Unfortunately, the show could not be put on due to COVID-19, but it made him comfortable with musical theatre. Fast forward to Junior year, Jack plays his first lead in High School Musical. He credits
this show with his favorite memories of high school theatre, like being able to play basketball on stage while performing. The energy of the audience was exhilarating! By his senior year, Jack was the president of the Drama Club, starring in Something Rotten, where he gained strong tap experience. He still thinks about it today, almost three years later.
Jack is currently a Senior at Slippery Rock University, earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre with a minor in Dance Performance. He is currently pursuing theatre outside Moon at a professional level, working not just in Pittsburgh, but across the country! He is currently in his favorite musical of all time, Tick Tick Boom, just 45 minutes away from Moon. As for the future, Jack will move to New York City after college, where he hopes to sign with an agency to get onto Broadway within the next few years. “I have never stopped working at my craft and I don’t plan on it anytime soon.”
Austin’s first show at Moon Area High school, Clue, took place at the Moon Park Amphitheater! He reminisces on how odd it was to wear clear masks around the stage and move set pieces, while still being mindful to maintain social distancing policies. Austin’s biggest takeaways from high school theatre were preforming in the closing number for the Gene Kellys in Spring of 2023, and preforming for the full house show during Drowsy Chaperone (April 2024).
Currently, Austin is double majoring in Music and Pre-Law at the University of Tampa. He is still doing productions as well such as: The Drowsy Chaperone (Underling), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Mitch Mahoney), and The Prom (Nick). For his future, Austin would love to become a recording artist or an entertainment lawyer. “My path is one like no other, and while it can be a daunting task at times, I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Shayla’s first show at Moon was also Clue! Not only was the amphitheater setting unique, but it was the only play Moon has done in several years. She describes it as a nice getaway from virtual school, being able to see cast mates after being at home all day, which helped form some really strong connections.
Ironically, Shayla did not even intend to audition for Something Rotten. Even after she was cast, she struggled with thinking about dropping, but she ended up having more fun in that show than any other show she has ever done. Shayla is a Sophomore Musical Theatre major with a minor in Dance at Temple University! She plans on Graduating with a BFA in 2028. Shayla’s love of dance is not new. One of her favorite memories was being able to direct the dance portion of Seussical. “Not only getting to see my hard work on stage before me but seeing Dr. Michael’s reactions and how genuinely proud he looked is forever a core memory.” After graduating, Shayla hopes to sign with an agency to get her Broadway career started.
Stay updated on Moonbeams for progress on our fall Musical Descendants! Show dates November 13th-16th. We are so proud of our alumni for bringing pride to not only Moon Area Theatre, but Moon Area High School as well. Good Luck to all our alumni, tiger pride!
