University of Dubuque Students Celebrate the Life Stories of Others in Reminiscence Theatre Project

DUBUQUE, Iowa - "There are people who love it here, and their lives and their stories are important."

So began Life Story Presentations: Featuring the Stories of Our Residents, an original piece of theatre created and performed by eight University of Dubuque students based on the personal memories of Helen Zeimet (102), Ray Theisen (95), and Merle Kilburg (87). Students interviewed the three residents at Mill Valley Care Center in Bellevue, Iowa, earlier this semester and then shaped those life stories into a theatrical script to honor and celebrate their experiences as part of a Reminiscence Theatre Project.

"It's been a uniquely moving experience," said Lucas Federonich, a junior music and theatre double major from Dubuque, Iowa. "Being 21, there's a large disconnect from generations with so many years between, and with Helen being part of the 'Greatest Generation,' it's a wild opportunity to get to meet with her. There's so much that she said that I can't even properly fathom. It really puts into perspective how much has changed in the 80 some years that she experienced before me. It has been an awesome and rather moving experience."

Around 80 people including the play's original storytellers and their family and friends as well as other Mill Valley Care Center residents attended the heartwarming performance on April 23, 2026, in Babka Theatre, Heritage Center. Mementos were incorporated into the set - a quilt made by Zeimet, a photo of Theisen, a table handcrafted by Kilburg, and more.

"I thought it was great," Zeimet said after the performance.

Kilburg added, "They did a good job of picking out what I thought was important."

Theisen agreed, stating he never imagined his story would be shared in such a way.

Joe Klinebriel, MFA, professor of theatre at UD, housed his first Reminiscence Theatre Project within his Theatre and Culture course as it seemed like an appropriate space to explore how theatre can reflect the reminiscences of older populations.

"Reminiscence Theatre strives to honor, celebrate, and preserve the stories of an older population," Klinebriel said. "I felt this was an important opportunity for our students, who are budding storytellers, to get a chance to meet with members of our older culture, to hear their stories, and then to meet the challenge of adapting those reminiscences into a piece of theatre."

The first step was to reach out to various contacts at local residential care and retirement communities. Klinebriel received positive responses from a number of interested parties. However, it just so happened that Lenae Sieverding (C'99), MBA, administrator at Mill Valley Care Center, knew of at least three people who would be excited to participate in the project. An off-campus trip to the facility was arranged so the students could split up into smaller groups to conduct interviews and collect stories.

Owen Ripperger, a first-year theatre major from Dubuque, Iowa, was honored to tell those stories. He spent time getting to know Theisen and actually played him in the performance. Ripperger will never forget the loving way Theisen reacted when they would talk about Theisen's wife, Doris.

"When we asked about her, he spoke in a way that was endearing and respectful towards her," Ripperger said. "When Ray talked about her, it didn't feel like it came from a place of sadness even though she passed. He sounded more like he was happy to have her in his life and that he wants to continue being happy for her."

Federonich, who spent time with Zeimet, will always remember her response to one specific question.

"When asked how the world has changed, she said, 'A little good, a little bad, but mostly the same.' And I think she's right. People are still people, even in an age with such rapid change," Federonich said.

Natalie Thuerauf, a sophomore pre-nursing major from Mount Vernon, Iowa, was one of the students who had the pleasure of interviewing Kilburg. She said he was always giving back and being selfless, and shared she thought that everyone could take a piece of that into their own lives. Thuerauf played two characters on stage: Zeimet as well as Kilburg's wife, Marilyn.

"This experience has been very meaningful for me as my grandpa is part of this population and I would love someone to do something like this for him, so making sure that their stories are shared with detail and with love was very important," she said.

After the interviews were completed, the students gathered to map out how to present the stories.

"We didn't do this project by splitting us all up and saying you'll work on this ... We all came together and collectively would agree on how it would be written and how it would be portrayed," Ripperger said.

Life Story Presentations: Featuring the Stories of Our Residents was set in a residential care center on the verge of closure. Federonich played an outsider coming in from the state to shut down the center. In a plot twist, his character ends up working at the center after hearing about the lives of three residents: the driven Zeimet who worked hard every day of her life from farm plots to shop benches; the jack-of-all-trades Theisen who is a longtime member of the Knights of Columbus, former barber, and local country music icon; and the selfless Kilburg who, along with his wife and others, helped to create what is known today as Area Residential Care and who handcrafted 42 wooden rocking horses to raise money for his church. Woven throughout it all was the impact of their families.

"It is my hope that by engaging in this process of spending time with these individuals, recoding some of their life stories, and then shaping the content into a theatrical script for a performance, that the students will experience the value of helping to honor, celebrate, and share these stories and experiences with various audiences, including younger generations," Klinebriel said. "This process not only allowed us to devise original theatre, but it also allowed us to connect with and preserve the stories of three special people who have led fascinating lives. And in learning about their histories, we have learned about ourselves, gaining new perspectives and strengthening our own character by observing the outstanding character of individuals who represent living history."