Blog

Spencer Rathke Announced as Technical Director

We are pleased to introduce Spencer Rathke as our technical director for Bye Bye Birdie.  Spencer has grown up watching his siblings find and grow their heart for music and theater.  Spencer’s mother, Renie Rathe, and his sister, Ashton Rathke, have worked with LPI for many shows which led him to being part of the cast for Mary Poppins back in 2015. In middle school, he has helped build sets with his father, Eric Rathke, and Mike Schwab. In 7th grade Spencer’s sister, Ashton, asked him to run the light and soundboard for the high school's performance of "Never Mind What Happened, How Did It End?" These last two summers Spencer has worked as a camp counselor and he is looking forward to staying in Random Lake this summer.  Spencer is actively involved in his school's student government as the sophomore class president, soccer team, golf team, FBLA, FFA, and their music and theater department. After practice, he is always finding himself in the auditorium working on lights, which led him to be his school's student tech director for "Elf" in fall of 2022 and light designer for "Back to the 80's" and "The Craving". When Spencer is not working on school work, or tech for shows, he is a part of his church's worship team and he does the soundboard mixing. Last year, Spencer found his passion for tech and he continues to learn more every day. He knows he will be working with some amazing people this summer and he can't wait to get started!

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Carter Krzyzaniak Announced as Choreographer

We are very happy to welcome back Carter Krzyzaniak as Choreographer for this summer’s production of Bye Bye Birdie.  Carter made his LPI Choreographer debut last summer for our production of Annie Get Your Gun.  Carter grew up in Plymouth, WI and has performed his entire life in musicals and show choir.  He went to college at UW-Madison, and he has a BA in Communication Arts. While at Madison, Carter toured with the Wisconsin Singers for 4 years - Production Manager for 2 years and a Dance Captain for 1 year. It was during that time that Carter started some choreography work with a few show choirs. He then began directing Momentum, the show choir at Plymouth High School in 2019, which he still directs and choreographs. Carter choreographed his first musical at the start of 2022 in Plymouth, but he has since choreographed musicals with LPI and Dare to Dream in Sheboygan.  He is looking forward to being back with LPI this summer, continuing to grow closer with some amazing new friends that he met last summer, such as board members, Dan and Renee. Overall, he is just excited to be back. He loves theater, choreographing and telling stories. Carter is really passionate about art and live performance. He thinks art is one of the most important things in the entire world, and he’s excited for another opportunity to create!

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Bob Eichner Announced As Stage Manager

We are pleased to introduce our Stage Manager for this summer's production, Bob Eichner. He has been involved with Lakeshore Productions for over 20 years. Bob's first involvement with LPI was back in 2003 when his daughter Kaylin was a cast member in Crazy for You.  Bob joined the board of directors later that year and then 'retired' from the board 18 years later. He was president of the board for 14 years and watched a lot of kids grow up on the LPI stage, including most of the current board members.

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Mike Schwab Announced As Master Builder

We are pleased to introduce our master builder for this summer’s production, Mike Schwab.  Mike is a very familiar face around LPI as he has been a part of the set building crew for 13 years!  His first volunteer involvement with building was in 2010 when his son Connor tried out for “Honk”.  Seven years ago, Mike decided to join the LPI Board of Directors and he has been a wonderful addition to our organization.  Mike has also been very involved in building sets for the many productions put on by the Random Lake School District (high school and elementary) for the past six years.

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Jim Johnson Announced As Set Designer

LPI is happy to announce Jim Johnson as this year’s set designer for Bye Bye Birdie. Jim is delighted to design Bye Bye Birdie, his third show with LPI. His first LPI show was Willy Wonka the Musical where he was assistant director/stage manager, followed up by Guys and Dolls where he was co-director. Jim will be working alongside, Mike Schwab (master builder for Bye Bye Birdie), this summer to create the amazing world of Sweet Apple, Ohio!  Jim has been directing, acting and designing for the past sixteen years at many surrounding area theaters. Jim's most memorable directing experiences include Clue On Stage, Our Town, Guys and Dolls and several murder mysteries for Memories Ballroom. Jim's favorite set designs include Beauty and the Beast, Anything Goes, Clue On Stage, The Nerd and The Secret Garden. Jim's favorite on stage roles include Jacob Marley in West Bend Theater Company's A Christmas Carol, Editor Webb in Our Town, Grandpa Joe in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Andrew McNair in 1776. We at LPI are so excited to see what Jim has up his sleeve for the design of this summer production.

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Tom Kamenick Announced As Co-Music Director

We are happy to introduce one of our Music Directors for this summer’s production of Bye Bye Birdie, Tom Kamenick.  Tom returns (with family members) for his 5th summer with LPI!  Although he dabbles with other theater groups in the area, he has done more shows with LPI than any other theater company.  Bye Bye Birdie will mark his third show as music director, having previously music directed Little Shop of Horrors and Seussical.  He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Education from UWM, but is now a practicing lawyer with a J.D. from Marquette University Law School.  He plays piano and sings, but also has a background in cello and french horn.  Past LPI shows include Annie Get Your Gun (Charlie Davenport), Wizard of Oz (Emerald City Guard), Shrek (Donkey), and Guys & Dolls (Nicely Nicely).  Prior to law school, Tom taught two years of high school music (two choirs, two handbell choirs, African drumming, and a theater workshop) and a bit of middle school (choirs and general music).  He also directed a church choir in Germantown for 14 years and sings with his current church, Grace Lutheran in Grafton.  During law school, he worked as accompanist and assistant choir director for the Marquette University choirs.  We at LPI could not be more excited to welcome Tom into this production staff position for this summer’s production.  Tom will be teaming up with Nikki Anderson as Co-Music Directors for this summer’s production of Bye Bye Birdie.

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Nikki Anderson Announced As Co-Music Director

We could not be more excited to welcome back Nikki Anderson to our production staff for this summer's production! Nikki is returning for her 4th stint as music director for an LPI show (her 11th overall). Nikki will be teaming up with Tom Kamenick this summer to assist in the music director position. She has been a music teacher at Random Lake schools for the past 16 years and has directed over 25 plays and musicals in that time - all of them in her home away from home, the Random Lake District Auditorium.

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Kim Dussault Announced as Bye Bye Birdie Costume Designer

We are thrilled to welcome back Kim Dussault as our costume designer for this summers production of “Bye Bye Birdie”.  This will be Kim’s second year as costume designer for LPI and fourth show over all with LPI.  Kim started with LPI in 2019 as a volunteer for “Shrek”.  She transitioned to being on stage in 2021 for “The Wizard of Oz” and 2022 for “Annie Get Your Gun”. 

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Ava Childs Announced as Bye Bye Birdie Assistant Director

We are very excited to introduce to you, our assistant director for this summer’s production of Bye Bye Birdie, Ava Childs.  Ava, grew up surrounded by art and music and fell in love with theatre in 6th grade when she auditioned for her first show. She has participated in both school and community theatre ever since.  Ava is currently attending the University of Wisconsin Madison studying Theatre & Drama and Arts Education with the dream of becoming a high school theatre teacher. Ava has had the pleasure of playing the role of Willy Wonka, and Sofie in Mamma Mia at her high school while also participating in choir, band, madrigals ensemble, and acapella group for all four years. Most of Ava’s community theatre experience comes from Sheboygan Theatre Company, which allowed her to play some of her favorite theatre roles including Wednesday Addams in the Addam’s Family, Woman 1 in Songs for A New World, and Wickersham 1 in Seussical. Ava’s first experience with LPI was playing a member of the lullaby league and a tree during the most recent production of the Wizard of Oz in 2021.  She had such a blast meeting so many new people, and is thrilled to be back with LPI for the summer of 2023! Ava is looking forward to sharing the joy of theatre-making with so many people, meeting new friends, reconnecting with old friends, and gaining incredible experience as an assistant director for the first time!

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A note from the board: 2022 Reflection and Gratitude

Dear LPI Community,

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