02/23/2025
Elise Wobbe. Elise began training with us shortly after we opened our doors in 2018.. Elise wanted to train for musical theater and was committed to accepting every opportunity provided and meeting the challenges required of her with tenacity, grit, and a ton of sparkle. Elise would attend strength and conditioning classes and often be the only student in the class. She kept coming.
It was a privilege to be on her journey. She came out of challenging situations with a fire in her belly to accomplish her goals. She patiently waited for her turn. We noticed this determination and granted her the honor of a Barbara F. Cullen Musical Theater scholarship. We knew she took her training seriously and was a model student-- one that Barb loved and adored. She was the model student and embodied the mission of our school.
She began being cast as the leading lady in many school productions. Her available time to train was limited and we knew that all of her training was setting her up for a long and successful trajectory in the business.
Her passing has been such a painful hurt. We grieve for ourselves but also for her mother and father, her sister, the hundreds of colleagues/friends from the Louisville theater community, all of her teachers, and her friends from college. Observing everyone's love and grief has made this acute ache even more unbearable. We keep saying-- gutted.
Today is her celebration of life. This child of the arts should be celebrated. She had a magic about her-- those hand painted freckles and those incredible jewel like eyes. Hey eyes literally sparkled ALL of the time. She lit up the stage. She pulled the eye. She was a baby star. How can we not celebrate that life with joy? The potential she had and the faith she would succeed does not disappear.
We want every student to look at Elise as a reminder: if it is tough-- do it. If the sacrifice to be better is to work harder and longer- do it. If you need to ignore everyone and believe in your ability and destiny-- do it. If you need to remind yourself you can't compare what you do vs others-- do it,. And if you don't feel like pushing, trying, and giving up... Remember Elise would NOT have. Oh how we wish we could see her do it-- do it ALL.
Sparkle Elise-- the theater light will never go dim on you nor our belief in you-- Thank you for visiting with us for a brief while on your journey. We are grateful-- please give Barb a big hug for us all.
