The Ashwaubenon Performing Arts Center (APAC) announces the recipient of its inaugural Sarah Elizabeth Swan Volunteer Award. This award is presented annually to a member of the Ashwaubenon Performing Arts Center’s Student Technical Crew in recognition of their outstanding dedication and leadership in support of the Center’s events.
The 2021 recipient of the Sarah Elizabeth Swan Volunteer Award is 2021 Ashwaubenon High School graduate Madalyn (Maddie) Baeten.
Baeten started with the APAC Student Technical Crew in December of 2017, working a live fundraising event for a local animal shelter. Baeten continued to work APAC events throughout her freshman and sophomore high school years, including the concert tour stop of Little River Band and the national tour stop of Recycled Percussion. Baeten’s involvement in lighting numerous recitals for local dance companies enabled her to learn the theater’s lighting system. Her continued participation with the Student Technical Crew during her junior and senior years of high school grew into various roles for school events, highlighted by the student-led Spring Play, the Theater Arts class capstone production, the Advanced Theater Arts class student-led capstone production, and annual school musicals.
Baeten’s leadership roles included serving as lead follow-spot operator for the 2018 high school musical Mamma Mia!, lighting director for the school’s 2019 award-winning presentation of Les Misérables, and director of the 2020 Ashwaubenon High School Talent Show. As a senior, Maddie was stage manager for the 2021 high school production of the musical Damn Yankees. Under her leadership, Maddie’s crew successfully executed staging Damn Yankees as an outdoor production performed on an actual baseball diamond.
Maddie Baeten will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point this fall. She plans to study history and social studies education while minoring in political science and arts management.
About the Ashwaubenon Performing Arts Center Student Technical Crew
The Ashwaubenon Performing Arts Center’s Student Technical Crew is comprised of current Ashwaubenon High School students interested in learning more about the behind-the-scenes production requirements of various events. These Crew students take on hands-on roles typically related to theatrical sound, lighting, and stage management duties.
About the Sarah Elizabeth Swan Volunteer Award
The Sarah Elizabeth Swan Volunteer Award was established by Heidi and Erik Swan in 2020 to honor their daughter Sarah’s involvement and dedication to the Ashwaubenon Performing Art Center’s Student Technical Crew. Sarah’s leadership in the program was instrumental in the growth of the Student Technical Crew program as well as her own personal growth throughout Sarah’s career as a student attending Ashwaubenon High School. Swan is currently attending St. Norbert College and works as a theatre technician for the Theatre Facilities Department.
###
The Ashwaubenon Performing Arts Center (PAC) is a state-of-the-art, 730-seat performance venue built for the artistic and theatrical enrichment of the students and community members of the Village of Ashwaubenon and surrounding areas. The PAC serves as home to school and community musicals, plays, concerts, and theatre programs and also actively presents regional, national, and international touring entertainment.
For more information about the Ashwaubenon PAC, visit www.AshwaubenonPAC.org or follow ‘Ashwaubenon Performing Arts Center’ on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@AshwaubenonPAC).