ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Ashley Manion, a St. Clairsville resident and a student at Marietta College, is preparing to showcase her new musical “Stratum.”

She wrote the entire show including the music, lyrics and script.

Manion said that the show focuses on the children of superheroes and supervillains.

“It talks about the expectations that children are put under, sometimes by their parents, sometimes by external forces, and it’s really about people trying to find their own path in life and not always the path that they are expected to go on,” she said.

Manion said audiences can expect a lot of action scenes in the superhero-themed show. She also noted that the music is a contemporary mix of pop and rock.

Manion said she had been brainstorming and writing over the last four years, but the idea for “Stratum” came to life just over a year ago.

“I’ve been working on the project, at least this version, since about May, and it’s been a crazy process just because I wrote everything like the book, the lyrics, the music, the orchestrations. It was a very short process for the amount of work that had to be done, but I’m pretty happy with the results,” she said.

Manion also recently entered the musical into the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, a nationwide theater program that helps college students get their foot in the door.

Manion said if “Stratum” is selected out of all of the submitted shows, it will be produced in Pittsburgh next year. After that, “Stratum” could be selected for Broadway.

She said she doesn’t know all of the details about the festival yet. Manion also said that she plans to enter “Stratum” in other festivals and competitions, both nationwide and local.

She said she has received a lot of positive feedback from professors, peers and others, so she is hopeful that her musical will do well.

Manion is a senior at Marietta College and is double-majoring in music and theater and minoring in creative writing.

“Stratum” is serving as her senior capstone project for both of her bachelor’s degrees.

After graduating in the spring, Manion said she wants to write musicals full time.

“That is definitely the ultimate goal. It really depends on what happens with the show, if it gets developed further,” she said.

She added that she would like to write novels if writing musicals does not work out.

Manion graduated from St. Clairsville High School in 2020.

The show will open at 8 p.m. Dec. 1 at Friederich Theater at Marietta College. Performances will also be at 8 p.m. Dec. 2 and Dec. 7-9.

The show has two acts and is about two and a half hours long. Manion said that she would give the musical a PG-13 rating.

“It has some adult themes in the show, like some cursing and things like that, but it’s overall OK to bring your family to,” she said.

Tickets can be purchased at marietta.edu/theatre-season.

For information about Manion and her other achievements, visit ashleymanion.com.

The full cast and crew are:

Cast:

Morgan – Jackson Bandy

Dianne – Emma Gandor

Stephanie – Lee Hankinson

Jamie – Rose Wardlow

Ricky – Doug Bungard

Granite – Andrew Konjevich

Cadence – Lais Gabriela Flores

Ensemble – Riley Anslow, Brendon Thompson, Logan Hertle, Antigone Lautar Hall, Maurice Riley, Lily Sorensen, Riley Matchinga

Production Team:

Book writer, Lyricist, Composer, Orchestrator – Ashley Manion

Director – Melissa Hill Grande

Music Director – Peter Sour

Stage Manager – Payton VanNort

Assistant Stage Manager – Dallas Lacey

Fight Director – Antigone Lautar Hall

Fight Choreography Advisor – Andy Felt

Scenic Design – Sophia Abrusci

Costume Design – Melissa Hill Grande

Props Design – Sophie Wheeler

Assistant Props Design – Ella Drake

Lighting Design – McKenzie Cameron

Assistant Lighting Design – Olivia Lovich

Sound Design – River Perry

Assistant Sound Design – Dallas Lacey

Video – Nathan Bradley

Master Carpenter – Sarah Hashman

Pit Musicians – Emma Searing, Emily Hill, Abigail Brannen, Bryn Carter, Cole McIntyre, Charlotte Whritenour