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Centennial Quilters
By Kim Borgerding | March 15th, 2013
In honor of the CSB centennial celebration, the CSB/SJU Theater Department is presenting “Quilters,” a
touching and realistic musical that honors pioneer women similar to those who founded CSB 100 years
ago.
Based on journals and interviews from actualwomen, “Quilters” tells the story of an elderly woman
nearing the end of her life, who uses her quilt squares to pass her life stories on to her daughters. Rich in
history, the show covers several aspects of the lives of pioneer women, such as marriage, pregnancy and
childbirth.
“The women created the quilts to tell their stories. Each of their patterns represented different times in
their lives,” cast member and CSB sophomore Aly Chromy said.
The show was selected four years ago specifically for the CSB centennial celebration. Kaarin Johnston,
professor of theater at CSB/SJU and the musical’s director, stressed the importance of honoring and
remembering generations before us. Dr. Carolyn Finley, Professor of Music, served as the music director.
“The show celebrates the spirit of the women who founded this place. We are a part of their history, and
they are a part of ours,” Johnston said.
“Quilters” also stitches together the monastic and student communities on campus. The mother character
in the production is played by CSB alumna Sr. Janine Mettling, OSB.
“It goes to show how involved the nuns are in student life,” stage manager and CSB senior Liz Meany
said. “S. Janine is a great representative for the monastic community of St. Ben’s.”
In addition to the musical, Fine Arts Programming is also displaying a quilt exhibit that is currently
available for viewing in Gorecki Gallery and Gallery Lounge in the BAC.
“Many of those quilts are made by students, staff and faculty members; there are even a couple that were
made by nuns in the 1800s,” Johnston said. “The exhibit is perfect for viewing before the show or during
intermission. It’s really a nice way to get a good look at history.”
The cast members fell honored to be a part of such a historic show.
“As a senior, I wanted to do something that will be part of history. I feel like I made my mark by working
on this centennial show,” Meany said.
“I’m honored to have had the opportunity to look back at history in this light,” cast member and CSB
sophomore Laura Ricci said. “I had the honor of working with an amazing group of women.”
After a successfulfirst weekend, “Quilters” will be presented again on at 7:30 March 15 and 16 P.M. in
Gorecki Family Theater in the BAC. Tickets are available at the Box Office.
The cast of the show is looking forward to the last few showings, as many audience members have been
surprised and even moved to tears by the performance.
“It’s more relatable than you think,” Meany said.
Even though the CSB centennial may be a time to look ahead into the future, Johnston believes that
“Quilters” reminds students of an essential part of this celebration.
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“Part of the centennial is looking forward, but part of it is taking the past with you.”
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YouTube Franta-zy
By Kim Borgerding | September 25th, 2012
Here at CSB/SJU,a lot of big names pass through our campus: Matt Kearney,Seamus Heaney and more
recently, Tom Brokaw. With all of these celebrities appearing on campus, it is not surprising that one of
our own Johnnies has already made a name for himself.
Meet Connor Franta,a sophomore Global Business major from La Crescent,MN. He participates on the
SJU cross country and swim teams,and is a self-proclaimed night owl. Although he may seem like the
average Johnnie, Franta has a very unique hobby. He creates weekly YouTube videos, with the goal of
making your Mondays a little more “frantastic.”
Franta created his YouTube channel about two years ago as a result of extreme boredom.
“I was just browsing through YouTube videos and I thought, ‘hey, I have a web cam, I could do this.’ I
had no intention of getting any views, I was just bored and thought I’d do something funny,” he said. His
videos cover a wide variety of topics, from covers of music videos, to rants, to do-it-yourself tutorials –
all with a touch of comedy.
According to Franta’s sister, Nicola, Franta’s “bubbly and outgoing” personality is to thank for his
YouTube success. While his personality may be huge, his fan base is even bigger. Franta has 16,000
followers on Instagram, 33,000 followers on Twitter and approximately 59,000 YouTube subscribers.
Franta was not always open about his secret hobby.
“Initially, I thought it was kind of weird. It was just me talking to myself,” Franta said.
The channel started off slow, taking about a year to gain popularity. Then, his views started to multiply.
“A year ago I had 3,000 [subscribers], and now I have almost 60,000. I realized that people actually
thought I was funny, and now I’m really proud of it,” Franta said.
Because of his huge number of subscribers, Franta recently held a meet and greet at the Mall of America.
“About 100 fans showed up, and we actually got kicked out because we were a fire hazard,” Franta said.
Last June, he had the opportunity to attend VidCon (Video Conference) in Los Angeles, where he met
famous YouTube stars such as Smosh and Jenna Marbles as well as his fans.
“It was easily the highlight of my summer and probably my life thus far,” Franta said.
Franta also has designed some merchandise that is for sale through districtlines.com, including a
wristband featuring his slogan “Frantastic” and a t-shirt that sports the saying, ‘I’ll do me, you do you.’
“It’s all about being yourself – don’t worry about other people,” Franta commented about the shirt’s
saying.
He hopes to have a new sweatshirt available this fall.
Despite all of Franta’s YouTube fame,his friends argue that it has not gone to his head. Fellow cross
country member James McLean says that “in reallife, [Franta] is a realdown-to-earth guy with a heart of
gold.” Or, in other words, pretty “frantastic.”
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Author in Residence
By Kim Borgerding | November 3rd, 2012
It all started with a tradition that had been passed down through her family for generations: place leaves in
a cooking pot, leave the room for a while and when you return, the leaves will be replaced with candy.
This tradition was the highlight of Lauren Schoenbauer’s childhood. It was also the inspiration for her
first children’s book, Leppy and the Magic Pot.
Schoenbauer, a first-year nursing major from New Prague,Minn., has had a passion for writing since she
was a child; not only has she kept a journal since the age of six, but she originally came up with the idea
to write Leppy and the Magic Pot when she was 13.
The story follows Leppy, a misfit leprechaun who isn’t very good at making gold coins to put in the pot at
the end of the rainbow. When Leppy runs away,he meets a little girl, and they become friends. The girl
creates a bed for Leppy by placing leaves in the bottom of a cooking pot. To thank her for giving him a
place to sleep, Leppy uses his leprechaun magic to replace the leaves with candy every day while the girl
is at school.
“That’s the exact game I used to play with my mom,” Schoenbauer explained.
The book’s unusual yet personal storyline resonates with Schoenbauer’s close friend, Chesna Breiner, a
first-year at CSB.
“I love how she was able to incorporate her own individual childhood with her love for writing and create
something so unique,” Breiner said.
Schoenbauer wrote the original manuscript for Leppy and the Magic Pot in about three weeks,and she
immediately began researching first-time author publishing companies. She stumbled upon Tate
Publishing in Oklahoma.
“Tate was the only company I emailed it to, and they called me back the next day,” Schoenbauer said.
Even though she missed the call, Tate Publishing left a voicemail expressing interest in publishing Leppy
and the Magic Pot.
“You can imagine that I replayed that message countless times and made everyone listen to it,”
Schoenbauer said.
After almost a year of revisions, Leppy and the Magic Pot will be officially released on Oct. 30, 2012.
Schoenbauer has read her book to severalclassrooms in the New Prague community, and the “Leppy”
tradition quickly spread around the area.
“It is a sweet story that leaves readers with a fun game to play,” said Nikki Russell, a first-year at CSB
and close friend of Schoenbauer.
Not only is Leppy and the Magic Pot available for purchase on Amazon.com as well as the Barnes &
Noble website, the CSB/SJU Bookstores will also be selling Schoenbauer’s work.
Even though she does not plan to pursue a career as an author, Schoenbauer vows to continue to write
regardless of her career path.
