By Nichole Smith, MVA Communications Coordinator
Montverde Academy alum and former MVA Theatre Conservatory student Aidan Fracker, ’21, is home from college for the summer and will be performing the lead role of Richie Cunningham in the musical “Happy Days” at Sonnentag Theatre at the IceHouse in Mt. Dora. The show will continue running through Sunday, August 6.
Aidan began performing in theatre productions at the IceHouse when he was a child and also had some theatrical opportunities in the Lower School at Montverde Academy. He was a part of the Lower School Choir, and in the fourth grade, he began playing various roles in the school’s theatre productions. He continued performing in plays throughout his time in Middle School, and once in Upper School, he joined Montverde Academy’s Theatre Conservatory.
After graduation, he enrolled in Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in acting. Aidan felt that his time in MVA’s Theatre Conservatory helped prepare him for college. Aidan found that the training and experience he’s received over the years at the IceHouse, at Montverde Academy, and now at Wright State University have given him valuable skills for work outside of acting. For the past couple of summers, Aidan served as a camp counselor at MVA’s summer camps, and this year he took on a leadership role as the Assistant Camp Director. “In MVA’s Theatre Conservatory, Roberta Emerson instilled a leadership quality in me that I think I always had. I’ve always felt like I was a leader, but I think especially in theatre, she made it clear that she was trusting me with a group of people, so that practice really helped,” Aidan said.
The musical “Happy Days” opened last weekend at the IceHouse. And this fall, Aidan will be performing his first lead role at Wright State University’s theatre in the play “The Liar” where he will play the lead character Dorante, a pathological liar who goes to Paris to have some fun. Whether Aidan is acting on a stage or leading others in the community, he has an affecting energy about him that will certainly capture the hearts and minds of audiences and anyone else in his orbit.
