A love of theater runs through senior Abby Perzan’s family. She often hears stories from her father, Joe Perzan, about his time in theater during his college years. 

“Hearing these memories from my dad made me join theater. My parents even got engaged in my dad’s college theater,” Perzan said. 

Like her father, the idea of joining theater was too good of an opportunity to miss.

“I joined Lafayette Theater Company (LTC) because of my dad and because of his passion for theater, especially the building of [the shows], the behind the scenes and all elements of it working together to create a show. Before I knew it, the old set crew manager my sophomore year was training me to be the next her,” Perzan said.

Perzan admits that the thought of leading the crew was terrifying, but she has made many friendships from the experience, and it helped her establish herself as a leader. 

“My whole life I was just involved in stuff, never a voice or a decisionmaker. But now I’m running set crew and even on the executive board for Student Council (STUCO),” Perzan said.

By stepping up and taking a risk, she was able to find a community in the school that also has tied her closer to her father.

“If it wasn’t for my dad and his sharing of memories from his theater days, I would not be a leader. I wouldn’t be me,” Perzan said.