St. Thomas went 16 years without any theater performance opportunities for students — until Abigail Elfner had anything to say about it.
With Elfner leaving St. Thomas after this semester, I sat down with her for an in-depth interview about how she revived the theater program. Immediately, her confidence and passion were palpable, as was her charisma, making it no surprise that she said theater has always been her favorite extracurricular.
But when Elfner transferred to St. Thomas midway through her first year of college, she was surprised to find that performance opportunities didn’t exist for its students.
“I got here and I joined the theater club, and I very quickly realized that all they did was go to local shows, which is amazing,” Elfner said, “But I was just like, ‘That’s only part of theatre.’”
From there, Elfner tried creating her own performance club, to no avail. She said the assistant director of campus life at the time recommended that she go to Macalester or St. Catherine — schools that already have established theater programs.
Elfner reached out to Macalester and got involved with its program. But she said after a while, the long, freezing walks there from St. Thomas became unbearable for her.
“That was really the turning point that got me thinking, ‘We need theater at home,’” Elfner said.
Elfner then got in touch with the St. Thomas theater club board, and they created a new position: performance director.
“And that’s where everything started. The very next year, I created the cabaret,” Elfner said. “It generated some interest in people that I could then scout for later.”
In the spring of 2024, Elfner collaborated with Macalester playwright Emery Todd to put on their original play, “Entropy or Something.” It was the first play performed at St. Thomas since 2008, the year the university discontinued its theater degree.
“It was one night only, it was a 30-minute show and we had a cast of seven,” Elfner said.
That first show caught the attention of faculty members who had been working to grow the theater program, which Elfner said helped her offer more opportunities going forward.
The following year, Elfner put on “The Crucible,” a full-length play with a cast of 21. She received grant money to fund the larger show, which included set pieces, costumes and a licensed production.
After the success of “The Crucible,” the university hired Elfner to continue leading the theater program for the 2025-26 school year after graduation. She said that her work this year involved meeting with students, hosting local theater groups and directing the spring play.
Elfner’s final show, “Eurydice,” ran from May 1-3. The play was a modern retelling of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, told through the latter’s perspective, with a bare-bones set and colorful costumes.
With Elfner now moving on, the St. Thomas theater program will lose its director and spearheading force.
“This entire year, the point of my position has been, ‘Teach the students to do essentially what I was doing by myself,’” Elfner said.
Elfner said that next year, the university will hire a local professional to direct the spring play. She also said that there have been conversations about creating paid theater positions for students and renewing the theater minor.
Junior Ashley Donley has been in all three of Elfner’s shows and said it was cool getting to see the program grow over the years.
“The first year we had a really small play — it was just a student-written play — and now, we’ve been able to do bigger performances. And seeing more people come has been really special,” Donley said.
Freshman Victor Porto said that participating in “Eurydice” was a wonderful experience, which he attributes to the fact that Elfner is more than a director; she’s a friend.
Elfner’s gregarious nature was evident when I spoke to her. On multiple occasions throughout our conversation, she paused to wave to friends passing by.
“I would describe her as very hard-working, very caring,” Porto said. “She’s such a nice person to have around.”
Elfner said that the theater program is in good hands and that she is ready to pass it off to someone new.
“I’ve given my entire life to this for three years now — three and a half, depending on how you count it — and I’m really satisfied and happy with the work that’s been done, that I’ve done. But, I’m ready to move on, and I’m ready to go forward in other dreams,” Elfner said.
Emily Kratz can be reached at krat1542@stthomas.edu.
