Sarah Jessica Rhodes returns to the A.A. Fredericks Auditorium stage in the Dear School of the Creative and Performing Arts once again. This time her show isn’t a fall or spring theatre production, instead it’s her own show.
Since graduating Northwestern State University of Louisiana, Sarah Jessica has toured the U.S. and performed her Taylor Swift Tribute. Today, she comes back to her alma mater and will give the NSU and Natchitoches community a chance to witness the production.
The idea of this tribute show began with a simple headshot 10 years ago. “I had this headshot that looked remarkably like her, and everyone kept saying ‘oh my gosh, you look like Taylor Swift’ so I started doing this, and it started as a small thing,” Sarah Jessica said. “It grew and changed, and now it’s a big production.”
Sarah Jessica’s tribute has gained so much notoriety that she now performs in a Las Vegas stage. “Going to Las Vegas was quite a journey, I went there on a whim, just hoping to maybe stay for a year,” she said. “I’ve been there for quite some time now, because it’s a lot of fun. You feel like you’re a star when you’re in Las Vegas.”
Tonight, Sarah Jessica will bring the audience through all of Taylor Swift’s best eras, she said. She encourages the audience to have fun and sing along to the songs.
For her being back in Natchitoches is nostalgic. Seeing all the places she used to see around town and seeing the evolution of the campus brings that sense of familiarity from when she was a student.
Besides the show, Sarah Jessica taught a master class for students in the CAPA department and taught them the things she wished she’d known after graduating.
“Everything is not always easy – things don’t just get handed to you,” she said. “And sometimes when it comes to an audition, it’s not just about if you’re good or not. It’s about how good you look that day, or what mood the person who is casting is in, and you can go on and be the best you can be and it just might not be right for what the casting agent is looking for.”
She feels it’s important that students gain a sense of confidence so that they can perform confidently to their audience, she said.
Graduating from the Department of Theatre and Dance taught her everything she needed to know in order to create her own production. “I know about stage production, I know about stage management, I know how to make my own costumes, I know how to dance and choreograph,” she said. “All of those things helped me create my own show.”
Through the collaboration between the University Programming Council and CAPA, Sarah Jessica opens her show up to the community tonight at 6 p.m. at A.A. Fredericks Auditorium. NSU students are welcomed free of charge. While community members may purchase the $25 ticket using this link.
Check out Sarah Jessica Rhodes’ 30 second trailer for her Twist on Taylor performance.
