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The university theater organization brought back live shows with Mavericks during Homecoming and Family Weekend.

As live theater returns to stages across the country, The Masque of La Salle is no different.

The student-run theater organization at La Salle University gives those interested in theater work the opportunity to gain experience ranging from performing on stage to management roles backstage.

The students lifted the curtain on the main stage of Dan Rodden Theatre during La Salle’s Homecoming and Family Weekend in mid-November for their first on-stage performances in front of a live crowd in nearly two years. The students performed Mavericks, a selection of plays written, directed, and acted by students. This year the show included five plays ranging in a variety of topics.

Typically, The Masque puts on a fall play and performs Mavericks in the spring semester. The COVID-19 pandemic limited their options for choosing an outside director for their play; moving Mavericks up on the calendar made sense.

Eila Nash, ’23, a sociology major who serves as The Masque’s president, said the organization put more energy into the Mavericks this year since it replaced the fall musical. This included boosting social media awareness and applying extra attention to detail with each production.

Performing for a live audience again made the organization’s members happy, said Nash. The Mavericks received rave reviews from attendees, with many saying it was some of the best they had ever seen from the Masque, said Claire Kunzier, ’22, a communication major and Masque’s vice president of tech.

“I can’t emphasize enough how much having The Masque perform on the Dan Rodden stage again meant to current members and alums,” said Mina Koller, assistant director of campus programming and the current advisor to the organization. Koller sat with an alumni group that had come to campus for Homecoming to see The Masque’s performance. “The Masque is an incredibly special part of the La Salle community,” Koller added.

“It’s been really nice being in-person again,” Nash said.

The organization’s membership has remained healthy, Rachel Ziegler said, ’22, a nursing major and Masque’s vice president of publicity and social media, and five newcomers finally got what she called “the full Masque experience.”

“They’ve been doing great. They’re very confident,” she added.

“I can’t emphasize enough how much having The Masque perform on the Dan Rodden stage again meant to current members and alums. The Masque is an incredibly special part of the La Salle community,” said Mina Koller, assistant director of campus programming and the current advisor to the organization.

For the spring, the group hopes to recruit more members, particularly on the technical side and in its male membership, said Lee Hungerford, ’22, a sociology major and The Masque’s vice president of alumni relations and records.

The Masque is La Salle’s oldest student-run organization on campus, with its origins dating to 1929.

“We have a lot of traditions and we want to keep the Lasallian spirit alive,” Kunzier said.