Employee Spotlight: Kris Eitrheim

As the semester is coming to an end, we will be saying farewell to many beloved professors. One man in particular, Kris Eitrheim has been around since the beginning of the St. Ambrose University Theatre Department.

Before arriving at St. Ambrose University in 1991, Eitrheim was in the Chicago theatre scene.

"I thought that Ambrose was a fine small university that might be a good place to be," explained Eitrheim. "However, I thought that I would continue to pursue a professional design career in Chicago. The day I was offered the job at Ambrose I was laid off from the struggling theatre that I was working for. I took that as a pretty strong sign that I needed to come to Ambrose and start my education career."

Throughout his time here, Eitrheim has worked on many shows, his first being House of Blue Leaves by John Guare. When reflecting on these shows a few favorites come to mind.

"I really enjoyed A Streetcar Named Desire, The Crucible, Antigone, Oedipus Rex, and Tartuffe just to name a few," Eitrheim said. "I enjoyed the design process for those shows and working with the people involved."

Eitrheim is currently working on his final show here at SAU, Little Women, and he has many bittersweet feelings about this production.

"I always enjoy working with Dr. Cory Johnson," he shared. "Little Women has definitely been a challenge; I really enjoy the attic scenery and I regret how minimal the scenes are. I just didn't feel like we had a choice," Eitrheim shared. "My favorite part of Little Women and frankly all of our shows is working with the wonderful actors and technicians on this show. The singing for this show is so wonderful that I have a difficult time keeping my emotions in check."

This month, Eitrheim will be retiring after being a cherished member of the SAU community for over 30 years.

"My retirement plans are a little undefined," said an unsure Eitrheim. "I am planning on moving to Minnesota to help care for my mother who is having memory problems. I will probably get another job at some point, maybe working at a hardware store or something, we'll see. I'm looking forward to doing some woodworking, but of course I will miss the people at St. Ambrose. [I will miss the] students and faculty that have become part of my life for 30 years."

Before Eitrheim closes the curtain, he leaves one final message for the SAU community.

"My message to St. Ambrose is that I wish that the arts could be strengthened and supported more fully so that students can still participate and watch great performing arts on campus," Eitrheim added. "We have worked toward a day where Ambrose could call itself a center for the arts in the Quad Cities and perhaps the region, and I would like that goal to be pursued with as much joy and hard work as is possible."

We will certainly miss Eitrheim. He has been a beacon of light in the Theatre Department for so long that his leave will be noticed. However, we wish him the best of luck on his new journey.