The theatre arts department alumni being honored at Catawba College’s Homecoming include Broadway musical theatre performer Ashton Byrum ’91; Disney World headliner, magician Terry Ward ’86; Salisbury native and theatre production designer Richard Seagle ’78; and popular actress and playwright (“Dirty Barbie and Other Girlhood Tales”) Denise Stewart ’95.

Ashton Byrum has a professional career that spans 25 years with performances in My Fair Lady, Grease, Fiddler on the Roof, The Will Rogers Follies, The Producers, A Christmas Carol, West Side Story and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, among others. Byrum is a 1991 Catawba graduate in musical theatre.

Terry Ward is in his 28th year as the only full-time featured magician at Walt Disney World. The headliner for Disney’s “Diamond Horseshoe Review and Medicine Show” for many years, Ward is also a highly sought after performer and master of ceremonies for conventions and Fortune 500 companies. Ward is a 1986 Catawba graduate in theatre arts.

Richard Seagle has designed for numerous North Carolina theatres, including Salisbury’s Piedmont Players. Other theatres include the Asheville Community Theatre, Highland Repertory Theatre, Parkway Playhouse, Mars Hill University Theatre, and Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre. Seagle is a 1978 Catawba graduate in theatre.

Denise Stewart is known throughout the Southeast for her one-woman show, “Dirty Barbie and Other Girlhood Tales.” In addition to her playwriting and acting skills, Stewart is a sought after public speaker in the corporate and business world. She is a 1995 Catawba graduate in theatre arts.

Byrum, Ward, Seagle, and Stewart will be inducted into Catawba’s Blue Masque Theatre Hall of Fame at 8 p.m. on Friday, October 23^rd in Hedrick Little Theatre, located within the Robertson College-Community Center. This event, a primary fundraiser for the Blue Masque, is open to the public. Tickets are $25 and may be purchased through the Catawba College Alumni Office at 704-637-4394.

At 7:30 p.m., immediately preceding the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, current and former Catawba College theatre arts students will present a talent showcase. Admission includes the showcase, induction ceremony and a reception following.