First Year Players is ‘one big family’ for theater fanatics

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Each year, the cycle starts over again for Syracuse University freshmen.

Freshmen navigating through the buzz of their first year search for a community to call home as members of SU’s First Year Players eagerly await their next batch of skilled singers, choreographers and crew-hands to join their anticipated spring musical. The organization and new students, for those who join, are a perfect match.

“The organization taught me a sense of community that I never thought that I would find,” said Jessica Hallock, a junior at SU and FYP’s co-producer. “It has helped me come out of my shell and most importantly has taught me what it means to be a leader.”

FYP is an entirely student-run organization that allows first-year and transfer students to gain exposure to different elements of the theater. Freshmen actors, musicians and crew members are welcome to audition to take part in a spring musical produced by upperclassmen. While not performing, older students in FYP said they keep coming back because of the strong bonds and community forged early on during their time at SU.

Auditions and interviews have already taken place for this year’s spring musical, “The Addams Family,” which will take place on Apr. 4 to 6. The group also hosts charity events such as the annual FYP Cabaret, which takes place every fall and benefits local nonprofit theater organization Front Row Players.

SU junior Asher Kriegel fondly remembers his first impression of the group.

“The entire organization — more than 100 people — came into Goldstein Auditorium to welcome the first-years,” Kriegel said. “The FYP staff does a great job of building relationships through the rehearsal process.”

After learning about FYP at a freshmen club fair, Hallock decided to join.

“The thing that encouraged me to join was my love for theater in high school,” Hallock said. “I had experienced what theater was like during COVID-19 and wanted to perform in one last show, and FYP was the perfect opportunity to do so.”

The next year, she joined FYP’s crew for “Pippin,” this time working with freshmen who were in the same position she was in the year prior. Before new students return for the spring semester, the organization has already established their positions for upperclassmen, which range from acting coach to assistant finance director to set designer.

Members of the group are connected by more than just a love of theater. The friendships formed in FYP are long-lasting, with some even continuing past graduation.

“When I do my 20-minute-walk to campus I always see at least three people in FYP,” SU senior Alexa Kahn said. “It really makes the campus feel smaller.”

In preparation for their spring performance, the leaders of the organization foster team development by pairing freshmen with mentors and hosting events for their members, including the first-year brunch. The organization invites family members to watch students and share a meal with the group.

Hallock said her favorite memory from the past few years was the retreat that took place in fall 2023 following that year’s spring performance. The entire organization spent the night at a campsite and got to know each other better through team building activities.

Kahn shared a similar sentiment, saying that the retreat is “a great opportunity to spend time together and get ready for the upcoming year.”

Kahn joined FYP during the spring semester of her freshman year and will be directing this year’s show. She heard about the group through an upperclassmen who encouraged her to audition and continued meeting members who she quickly connected with.

“They were such a big group – and yet somehow they were all friends,” Kahn said.

The deep personal bonds between students of all different grades helped Kahn find her on-campus family. Kahn is eager to work with new and old friends during production this semester. As a senior, it will be her last.

“Everyone is so talented, passionate and dedicated which makes the creative process so fun,” Kahn said. “Of course, all our work is in preparation for the show but my favorite part is definitely the rehearsal process and lead-up to the show in the spring.”

Similarly, Hallock is looking forward to meeting all of the first years as they join the organization.

“It is an amazing experience,” Hallock said. “This organization is a huge community that gives many people their home on campus.”