The SPS Theater Company fills every seat for “Frankenstein.”
November 18, 2025
For Alexandra Cao ’28, the SPS Theater Company’s production of “Frankenstein” offered more than a role — it opened the door to connection, creativity and community.
BY IAN ALDRICH
On a Monday afternoon in mid-November, Alexandra Cao ’28 made a bittersweet visit to the St. Paul’s School New Space Theater. Just three days earlier, Cao and almost two dozen other SPS students had brought to life the tale of “Frankenstein” for the Theater Company’s annual fall play. Anchored by an original script by Theater Director Meg O’Connor, the cast and crew had spent more than two months on a production that was as complex as it was enthralling.
Not to mention successful. For both of its performances, “Frankenstein” played before a packed house. Now, Cao and her peers were back at the theater to celebrate their hard work and put the show to rest.
“On one hand, it was rewarding to close the chapter and see how much we had accomplished together,” says Cao. “On the other hand, it was hard to take apart something we had poured so much energy and heart into. Theater is unique in that you live in someone else’s life for a couple of days, and even after the show ends, you carry the inspiration of those characters with you.”
Cao’s character will undoubtedly stay with her for a long time. At the center of the production was an 8-foot-tall Frankenstein’s monster designed by Art Teacher Brian Schroyer P’22 that required three actors to operate and voice: While Dagny Bischoff ’26 controlled its ambulatory core; Cao and Molly Smith ’28 operated its arms.
The work was both technical and creative. For starters, there was the challenge of working with two other actors to give life to the massive figure. There could be no surprises — each movement Cao made had to be carefully choreographed and in sync with the others. But how she moved also needed to be as expressive as what she said.
“The three of us each kind of resembled one of the monster’s emotions: anger, sadness and guilt,” Cao explains, noting that the monster’s inner life is both complicated and deeply nuanced. “As the monster’s hand, my performance was built on all of its subtle gestures. It forced me to pay closer attention to people’s everyday movements and expression, and how those small details reveal emotion.”
Cao is no stranger to the stage. In addition to singing in the Chapel Choir, she plays the oboe for SPS’ chamber music and orchestra groups. Prior to joining the School community as a Third Former, Cao had also acted in several musical productions. But “Frankenstein” was her first role with the SPS Theater Company, and she says the experience was eye opening.
You can step into something completely new and know you’ll be supported. That freedom has let me discover sides of myself I didn’t even know were there. And I always find myself growing alongside people who are doing the same. It’s inspiring to watch my peers reveal different talents in different spaces — it reminds me that we’re all more than one thing.
— Alexandra Cao ’28
“People are more alike than different, and theater bridges those differences,” she says. “We all have Victor in us, we all have the monster in us. Through theater, we come to better understand ourselves and each other.”
Cao’s work with the Theater Company aligns with the broader experience she’s had at SPS. Originally from Shanghai, Cao came to the School after years of being enthralled by the stories her mother shared about her own American boarding school experience.
“I loved hearing what it had meant to her and wanted that for myself,” says Cao. “I chose St. Paul’s because it was a 100% boarding school and as an international student, I felt I’d be welcomed to the community — and I was, [from] the moment I stepped on campus.”
In addition to her many artistic endeavors, Cao’s time so far in Millville has included joining the rowing team, studying Latin and Greek, participating in several service projects, and launching a psychology club with her roommate Cammie Axelbaum ’28.
Cao says she’s immersed herself in a broad variety of things for a simple but powerful reason: “Because you can step into something completely new and know you’ll be supported,” she says. “That freedom has let me discover sides of myself I didn’t even know were there. And I always find myself growing alongside people who are doing the same. It’s inspiring to watch my peers reveal different talents in different spaces — it reminds me that we’re all more than one thing.”
