By Debra Collins P ’14

Founded in 1894, the Stony Batter Players is the oldest continually active student group at Mercersburg, with a rich tradition of staging stories. Whether realistic or fantastical, historical or contemporary, tragic or comedic, Stony Batter plays, oneacts, and musicals have not only awed audiences but also prepared students and empowered alumni with the essential life skills to develop their own tales.

“Theatre creates an environment for so many wonderful things to happen,” said Matt Maurer P ’18, ’20, ’22, ’23, fall and spring theatre director, “but I think the most valuable takeaway students gain from their theatre experience is confidence, both in themselves and each other. I believe this translates to their professional lives, whether they pursue theatre after high school or not.”

Engagement in Stony Batter and the arts in general develops students’ critical thinking skills, compassion, and creative expression, all of which translate into other aspects of their lives and careers, according to Kelly Dowling P ’21, ’21, ’23, arts faculty member and winter theatre director.

“I’ve found the creation and development of empathy—the ability to understand the motives and actions of others from their particular life experiences and trials—to be a major character-building outcome of participation in theatre,” said former arts director and faculty emeritus Laurie Mufson. “Especially in these divisive times, students also learn to connect with themselves and their inner world. Among all the disciplines, the theatre experience talks to that personal need.”

The arc of friendships that Stony Batter has energized may be, for many alumni, an ultimate good over the ages. For Mufson, A Chorus Line is one of the most memorable and binding due to what she termed “the circle of connection” she shares with Anne Reeder Bertram ’00.

“Anne was Cassie in my first Mercersburg production of A Chorus Line and was one of two choreographers for my final production, 23 years later, of the famed musical,” she said.

The Stony Batter Players has had a long run and has contributed to the personal stories of generations of students and alumni.

Happy birthday, Stony Batter! Break a leg!