(COVINGTON, La.) — As the St. Paul’s School Drama Department gets ready for a new year, the Marian Players welcome back alumna and new Theatre I teacher, Heidi Scheuermann.

“The reason I wanted to come back is because this area is my home, and I love living here,” Scheuermann said. “St. Paul’s was just a big part in my life, and I’m excited for this school year.”

Scheuermann was born and raised in the northshore area, and she attended St. Scholastica Academy (SSA) during her years in high school. As a student at SSA, Scheuermann performed in three St. Paul’s productions: “Music Man” (2004), “Godspell” (2005), and “Les Miserables” (2006).

“I was mainly a dancer in the musicals,” Scheuermann said, who chose the productions “because I enjoyed the musicals and they were more engaging than the fall plays.”

After Scheuermann graduated SSA, she attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and majored in Secondary Education and Theatre. She also went to Southeastern University to get a master’s degree in Organizational Communication.

“At UL, I was taking acting classes and Theater History classes,” Scheuermann said. “During the winter semester, our class worked on building the set of ‘Hamlet’.”

Scheuermann is now the new SPS Theatre I teacher and will be helping out with the Marian Players’ fall production, “You Can’t Take It With You,” and the spring musical, “Fiddler On The Roof.”

“I don’t know exactly what I will be doing, but I hope that I can help in anyway and doing whatever I can,” Scheuermann said.

Long-time Marian Player Director Denny Charbonnet has been the sole theater teacher at St. Paul’s since the 1980s. Charbonnet says the decision to hire an additional teacher does not necessarily mean she will be stepping down.

“Right now (Scheuermann) will be working with me and Mr. Baumgartner; we are still going to continue what we will be doing,” Charbonnet said. “She will be watching and learning from us. We will have some job description for her soon; we haven’t narrowed that down yet.”

Charbonnet said the decision to bring in Scheuermann and cut down on her own class load comes after considering the amount of time she had to spend with her family.

“I  wanted to cut back mainly because I wanted to have more time with my family and with my daughter, Elise,” Charbonnet said. “I just had a full schedule with teaching in the day and auditions and rehearsals at night.”

In addition to her work at SPS, Scheurmann’s interests off-campus include writing reviews for local plays and musicals and interviewing cast members.