About the Seth Alan Peterson Memorial Scholarship
Some of the happiest times of Seth’s life were as a member of the Upper Merion Area High School Underground Players. Whether taking the lead in a starring role or serving as production crew, he spent hours on and around the stage, living and breathing all things theater. Upon his death, his family launched the memorial scholarship for any member of the Underground Players who wished to receive further training in college or a summer program. The principal criteria have always been a love for theater and finding a sense of community as part of the Underground Players. The annual cash award is $1,500 and may be used for any purpose that furthers the recipient’s participation and training in theater.
Seth’s last high school performance.
“I had the honor of working with Seth shortly after he graduated from college. He was a one of a kind, smart, vibrant, sensitive talent who moved me enormously. He lit up every stage and every room he walked into. This fund in his name couldn’t be a more perfect way to continue his beautiful impact.”
Emily Skinner
Tony-nominated actor (Side Show) and singer. Credits include Billy Elliott (Mrs. Wilkinson), Prince of Broadway, The Cher Show (Georgia Holt), New York, New York (madame veltri), and Suffs (Alva Belmont/Phoebe Burn).
Congratulations Dash!
SAPMSF 2024 Winner Dash Durning with Seth’s mom,
Elaine Ellis Thomas.
Dash Durning is the 2024 Seth Alan Peterson Memorial Scholarship Winner
Dash is a SENIOR AT Upper Merion Area High School and a proud member of the Underground Players. In his winning essay, he wrote, “I will make sure that I honor the legacy of the scholarship and the person behind it, but it is those who are yet to make an impact on the theater community that I hope to inspire. I promise to use theater as the building block to make myself and those around me proud and leave communities and lives better than they were found.”
Seth’s Fund Partners with Theatre horizon
Seth was part of Norristown’s award-winning regional theater company, Theatre Horizon, from its beginnings in 2005. We are delighted to continue to help Theatre Horizon build its legacy as a community-based regional theater that seeks to ‘use the transformative power of storytelling to foster empathy and to create an inclusive home for artists, audiences, and students alike. We stage stories that illuminate the full range of human experience, bring people together, connect students with theatre artists, and contribute to the revitalization of our diverse and underserved community in Norristown, Pennsylvania.”
Beginning in the summer of 2023, Seth’s Fund will provide financial support to enable Theatre Horizon to hire two summer interns for the community education programs. The proposal from Theatre Horizon stated, “This particular internship will focus deeply on relationships and community. It is sponsored by Seth's Fund, which was created by the family of Seth Alan Peterson. Seth found acceptance, encouragement, and a sense of belonging in the theater, whether on stage or working behind the scenes. We hope to continue that legacy of community through this summer internship, and by expanding its scope to include two outstanding candidates, both of whom bring different skill sets and availability to the position, and look to Theatre Horizon as a place of belonging for themselves and their work.”
At Seth’s Fund, we look forward to continuing to expand Seth’s legacy into the world of theater that he so loved.
About Seth
Seth, age 3, as Muscle Man for the Valley Forge Presbyterian Nursery School Circus
Seth Alan Peterson was an actor and singer who grew up in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania before going off to New York University to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama from the Tisch School of the Arts. From his childhood performances on the front lawn of his house with his older sister, Rachel, and neighbors from across the street, Seth was hooked on acting.
Beginning just before his freshman year of high school, Seth took part in every theater production he could. Whether performing for local elementary schools in The Phantom Tollbooth or taking the lead as Billy Crocker in Anything Goes, his high school years were consumed by theater and choral music, participating in All State Chorus in his senior year. During most summers, he took part in the early productions of Theatre Horizon, now a respected regional theater in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
Seth and his mother, Elaine.
When it came time to choose a college, there was only one place he wanted to go, and that was New York University. Seth honed his craft as a student of acting, performing in a variety of dramatic and musical productions, from Pericles to Parade. He spent a summer at the Williamstown Theater Festival, immersing himself in theater, taking master classes, and making friends.
In the summer of 2008, Seth was selected as one of Broadway’s Rising Stars, performing at New York’s Town Hall with nineteen of the top students in New York under the direction of Tony-nominee Emily Skinner and Scott Coulter. His performance of Craig Carnelia’s What You Call a Dream earned him a Broadway.com review as “an unassuming specialist in heartwarming likableness.”
Seth and puppy Satchel
Smart, engaging, and wickedly funny, Seth was a voracious reader, a loyal friend, a walking film encyclopedia, and a fan of Philly sports.
All of this tells only part of Seth’s story, however. He struggled with depression in his teens, especially as he tried to make his way in New York as a student and a performer. On February 9, 2009, Seth died by suicide, leaving behind devastated family and more friends than he could imagine that he had.
A few of seth’s favorite things:
on His Book Shelf
jrr Tolkein:
The Lord of the Rings
Cormac McCarthy:
No Country for Old Men
The Road
Christopher Priest:
The Prestige
Margaret Atwood:
The Handmaid’s Tale
Moral Disorder
The Penelopiad
Oryx and Crake
David Sedaris:
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Naked
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Gregory Maguire:
Wicked
Aleksander Hemon:
The Lazarus Project
Max Brooks:
World War Z
Joan Didion:
The Year of Magical Thinking
Simone de Beauvoir:
The Ethics of Ambiguity
H.G. Bissinger:
Friday Night Lights
Nick Flynn:
Another Bullshit Night in Suck City
Michael Chabon:
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union
Dave Eggers:
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
You Shall Know Our Velocity
What is the What?
Easton Ellis:
American Psycho
Anthony Burgess:
A Clockwork Orange
John Kennedy Toole:
A Confederacy of Dunces
On seth’s Playlist
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