- All School
- Alumni
- Community
- Performing Arts
The anticipation before the curtain opens on a stage production is palpable. The heat of the stage lights. The smell of freshly painted sets. The countless hours of memorizing and rehearsing lines. The bond which exists between members of the cast.
These are just some of the things Red Knights remember of their time on the Benilde-St. Margaret’s stage. Those who sit in the Hamburge Theater seats know that when the lights go down and the curtain opens, every performer is putting their heart and soul into that moment.
At BSM, creativity is the heartbeat of our community from the science lab to the playing field, shaping students into confident individuals who carry their passions far beyond the classroom. And the arts programs at BSM allow students the most opportunities to be creative. We celebrate the lasting impact of our arts programs and are excited to reconnect with alumni who once graced our stage. Their stories reflect how deeply those programs have influenced their lives. It’s therefore no surprise that today’s students share that same passion for the arts and are creating memorable moments on stage. BSM believes in nurturing the next generation of artists knowing there will always be Red Knights who found their place in the world began on stage or behind the scenes at BSM.
Mo Perry, BSM Class of 1999
Mo Perry is a freelance writer and actor in the Twin Cities. You may have known her as “Snoopy” in the BSM Drama 1999 production of Snoopy the Musical, but you’ll soon see her as “Mrs. Boyle” in the Guthrie Theater’s production of The Mousetrap, running from March-May 2025. Perry was named Best Actress by City Pages in 2010.
Perry remembers her time at BSM in vignettes of speech competitions and play performances. Each time she performed as a Red Knight, a new brick was laid on her path toward being a professional performer.
With each new show she gets cast in, Perry carries with her the memories of her time at BSM. It wasn’t just the performances that stuck with her, “I remember the smell of the costume shop, the late nights painting sets, the feeling of making an audience roar with laughter, the excitement of opening night, the sorrow of closing night, and the knowledge that there was something here that I wanted to have forever.”
Q: What advice would you give a Red Knight hoping to pursue any artistic field in the future?
A: The world needs artists. Now, more than ever, it needs artists who are unafraid to think for themselves and express diverse, eccentric, iconoclastic points of view. The arts aren’t just about attention, fame, or adulation. They’re about broadening people’s apertures and saying something true about what it means to be here, now, together. If that calls to you, heed the call! We need you.
Annette Atwood-Piper, St. Margaret's Academy Class of 1951
Atwood-Piper (far right) with lifelong friends and fellow members of the SMA Class of 1951, l-r: Lois Mayou, Sharon Barrett, and Barb Turnbull celebrating Barrett's 90th birthday.
Her mother, unsure what to do with her at home when Annette Atwood-Piper was little, had signed her up for dance classes early in her life. This led to a lifetime of dancing for Annette. After school at St. Margaret’s Academy (SMA), she would walk downtown to her ballet classes.
Following graduation from SMA, Annette moved to London where she became a member of the Royal Academy of Dance, taking classes from Alex Martin, a dancer from the London Royal Ballet and solo performer in London and Paris.
Atwood-Piper returned to the states and became a dancer for the University of Minnesota and was one of the original dancers on the Minnesota Centennial Showboat. The showboat began as a historic partnership between the U of M theater department and the Padelford Boat Company. Making its first voyage in 1958, Annette was on-board and on-stage all summer. “We would perform as many as three times a day, the demand was so great,” Atwood-Piper said, noting, “It was a pretty big deal.”
Atwood-Piper leads the dance of the fairies during the May 1951 production of Cinderella at St. Margaret's Academy, surrounded by l-r: Nancy Gantter '51, Adrienne Ouellette '51, Jean Fitch '51, Pat Hart '51, Mary Burns '51, and Joan Smith '51.
After receiving a scholarship to attend the University of California - San Francisco, Atwood-Piper earned a degree in physical therapy and used it to specialize in treating dancers. Though she was no longer on the stage herself, her passion drove her to combine PT and dance. She was just as elegant working with dancers on their healing journey as she had been on the showboat.
Atwood-Piper later married and returned to the Twin Cities with her husband and two sons, where she remains a patron of the arts and an enthusiastic supporter of dancers today.
Michael Mahler, BSM Class of 2000
Michael Mahler is a playwright and songwriter. He authored An American Tail, a stage musical that premiered at the Minneapolis Children’s Theater. Now a Richard Rodgers Award for New Works and multi-Joseph Jefferson Award recipient, Mahler reminisces fondly on his time as a Red Knight.
Mahler’s passion for musical theater writing started in the classrooms of BSM. While reading The Odyssey, his English teacher, Mr. Backen, encouraged students to get creative with their projects on the book, using their multiple intelligences. Michael decided to write a song from the viewpoint of Telemachus, setting out on a journey of his own to find his father.
Mahler held on to that song until he was attending Northwestern University, where he submitted it in his first year writing for the Waa-Mu show, an annual original musical hosted at the university, written, performed, and presented by Northwestern students. The experience led Mahler to pursue a career in writing professionally for musical theater.
Since then, Mahler’s path includes stops on Broadway and Netflix, where he contributed lyrics to the Broadway revival of Miss Saigon and songs for the Netflix film My Little Pony: A New Generation.
Mahler's stage musical, An American Tail, premiered at the Minneapolis Children's Theater.
Throughout his successful career, there is one lesson that Mahler has learned and wants to share with other Red Knights, “You have to write a lot of bad songs before you can write good songs - so don’t be afraid to get started writing lots of bad songs.”
Q: How do you feel that BSM supported you and your journey to pursuing your talents professionally?
A: In so many ways! Kate Cuddy and Nancy Stockhaus were incredible teachers, not just of singing and choral music, but in being flexible and rolling with the punches at live performances. I had many formative experiences on BSM stages acting in the musicals with my friends and family members.
Caroline Stroh, BSM Class of 1983
Caroline Stroh is BSM’s drama department production manager and has been with BSM for nearly 25 years. Though she has always had a passion for theater and the arts, her path to her position was non-traditional.
After graduating from BSM in 1983, Stroh went off to college and on to law school. She was a lawyer for 10 years before she got involved in drama at BSM again, starting in the costume department.
Stroh will always remember the first show ever put on in the Hamburge Theater after construction finished in 2002, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Over 100 junior and senior high students participated in the combined production since the junior high’s shows were cancelled that year due to the construction. She shared that nearly all of the roughly 2300 costume pieces - clothing and accessories - were handmade.
Stroh’s hope is that students you wouldn’t normally see in the theater - those who are in sports or other activities - will take a chance and choose to participate more in drama productions. Whether as a performer, a member of the stage crew, or even simply as an audience member, Stroh hopes that all students and their parents know they have a home with the drama department.
“Several alumni bring their children to see our shows, or to the music concerts hosted at BSM,” she said. She invites more alumni to attend BSM shows in the future to celebrate the efforts of our student artists, “you’ll be impressed by what they can do on stage and of course, we always love to have them back.”
Stroh understands that not everyone will feel comfortable on stage, but encourages anyone who wants to join to do so. “It’s not just performing!” she assures, adding,. “There are so many technical opportunities that are fun and interesting careers. The stage is dark unless we have those people.”
Whether Red Knights are a member of the audience, stage crew, tech team, or cast, Stroh hopes for everyone to know that they have a home in the Hamburge.
“The theater can really be a safe space for some students,” she told us. “Whoever they want to be, they can be that here, on stage with us.”
Q: What would you like to see in the future of the arts at BSM?
A: I want to see even more people in attendance! My hope is that “non-theater” students and parents will attend our shows to witness the dedication our students put into every single performance. When faculty, staff and administration attend our shows, our students see that and know they are supported. I’d love to see them be supported by more of their peers too.
Stroh works closely with another BSM alum, Jake Mahler ‘03 who teaches high school math and stays active in the arts by serving as BSM’s director of drama productions and musical accompanist at all school Masses. Other alums like Julia Duffy, St. Margaret’s Academy Class of 1969 are seen on television in popular shows like Newhart, Reba, and most recently Night Court. Michael Fabiano, BSM Class of 2002 began performing at BSM and now shines on the world stage performing the lead roles at the Royal Opera House, the Staatsoper Berlin, the Wiener Staatsoper, and the Met.
Dozens of Red Knights each year join the ranks of student artists who find their place backstage or in the spotlight of BSM’s high school musicals presented in the fall and spring, the junior high musical, or the one-act plays presented in the MSHSL state competition. Since 2011, 84 BSM productions have been recognized by the Hennepin Theatre Trust as award winning shows, and 181 students have received gold, silver, bronze, and honorable mention awards for their performances at BSM.
These honors affirm the talent and hard work of our student artists who put their entire being into every moment of every production. Each performance on the BSM stage is a true display of humanity at work. Our Red Knights work together to portray stories every audience member can find themselves in. They can take a deep breath when they find their seats and quiet themselves before the show begins, knowing they’re right at home here at BSM.
Join us at one of this year's performances!
Friday, Feb. 21 - Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025: Junior high musical, Frozen, Jr.
Monday, March 3, 2025: Senior high winter band & choir concert
Thursday, May 1 - Sunday, May 4, 2025: Senior high spring musical, Diary of a Wimpy Kid the Musical
Tuesday, May 20, 2025: Spring choir concert (7-12)
Thursday, May 22, 2025: Spring band concert (7-12)
Tickets for drama performances are available for purchase here.
Have you made the arts your career? BSM wants to know!
Share your story with our alumni department by contacting Catie Scherer Brackin ‘99 at cschererbrackin@bsmschool.org
- Crown & Shield
- alumni
- performing arts