Milwaukee Native Elisheva Scheuer Comes Full Circle with Children’s Theatre Company Acting Cohort

For Milwaukee native Elisheva Scheuer, being selected for Children’s Theatre Company’s 2026–2027 Acting Cohort represents an exciting next step in a theatrical journey that began on Milwaukee stages when she was a child.

It also brings that journey full circle.

Scheuer is one of four early-career actors selected for the Minneapolis-based Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) Acting Cohort, alongside Aidan Folvag, Anya Naylor and Jeffrey Nolan. Cohort members will each perform in two productions during the season, engage with student actors and participate in professional development opportunities.

CTC, the nation’s largest theatre for young audiences, is the only theatre focused on young audiences to receive the Special Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre.

“The Acting Cohort connects emerging Twin Cities actors with professional opportunities, mentorship, and artistic rigor at a pivotal moment in their careers,” CTC Artistic Director Rick Dildine said in announcing the cohort.

For Scheuer, who recently graduated from the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program, that pivotal moment is now.

“I was absolutely elated!” Scheuer said of learning she had been selected. “Everyone I know who's worked with CTC or been in the Acting Cohort themselves has spoken incredibly highly of the experience.”

The opportunity also provides a bridge between the structure of her college training and the realities of beginning a professional career.

“As a student, I always had the structure and support of classes, professors, and school as a whole,” she said. “In this new chapter of adulthood and independence, without that built-in structure, it's empowering to know I'll be part of a highly reputable theater that will guide me through so many firsts in my career.”

Growing Up in Milwaukee Theatre

Although Scheuer's next chapter will unfold in Minneapolis, its foundation was built in Milwaukee.

Her parents exposed her to the arts from an early age, regularly taking her to musicals, orchestral concerts and ballet performances. Inspired to get onstage herself, Scheuer began performing in second grade at Stormonth Elementary School.

“The Milwaukee theater scene is phenomenal, and I was fortunate enough to be exposed to it since I was a young child,” she said.

Her experience with First Stage and its Young Company pre-professional training program, however, proved transformational.

“I found my love for Shakespeare, delved into Viewpoints, dialects, classical texts, character building, and movement work, and began to imagine theater as more than just a hobby,” Scheuer said. “First Stage empowered me to believe in myself, in my worth as an artist, and to go after my dreams.”

She credits that experience with giving her a substantial acting foundation before she entered college.

“Here I am four years later, just having received my BFA from the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theatre Actor Training Program, and I'm so grateful to the Milwaukee teachers and experiences that guided me down this path.”

Scheuer has since worked with The Playwrights’ Center, History Theatre, Gray Mallard Theater Co., Milwaukee Rep, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre and Next Act Theatre.

From Student to Mentor

One of Scheuer's primary responsibilities in the CTC cohort will be mentoring student actors in Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas and School of Rock, including leading warm-ups, serving as a resource and setting an example for the young performers.

It is a responsibility that reminds Scheuer of her own years as a student actor at First Stage.

“I remember what it felt like to be a student actor with First Stage, looking up to and admiring the professional actors in a cast,” she said. “I trusted their advice and loved hearing their many tales about working in the theater industry.”

Now she has the opportunity to become that professional actor for another young performer.

“Their patience, passion, and sincerity have prepared me for this upcoming opportunity to teach and mentor student actors,” she said.

At the same time, Scheuer will be learning from CTC’s professional artists, creating a unique dynamic in which she will serve as both mentor and mentee.

“To teach is to learn, and I'm curious what I will learn about my own artistic process and identity as a theater maker by serving as an educator,” Scheuer said. “I’m grateful for this unique opportunity to merge the roles of both mentor and mentee in the coming year.”

She is also looking forward to working alongside the other members of her cohort and learning from artists who have built lasting careers in the field.

“Being surrounded by actors who have made their dreams a reality and worked consistently in this field for decades will be truly inspiring,” she said.

Scheuer will face another professional first during School of Rock, where she will work as an understudy.

“To learn multiple tracks and have the confidence to go on at a moment's notice is thrilling, and such a crucial skill in this industry,” she said. “I haven't yet been an external understudy, and look forward to this new experience!”

Finding Her Voice with Forever Young

Scheuer is entering the professional theatre world not only as an actor, but increasingly as a creator.

Her senior thesis, Forever Young, was a one-woman verbatim theatre piece exploring the lives and stories of seven people she interviewed. Creating the show required Scheuer to take on roles well beyond performing, including playwright, producer and director.

“In school, I often heard the phrase, ‘Go make your own work,’” Scheuer said. “It was stressed that if we are capable of creating something for ourselves, we should do so, such that our worth is not defined solely by those behind the table in the audition room.”

Creating Forever Young changed how Scheuer viewed herself as an artist.

“I finally found my voice as a creator,” she said. “I didn't realize that I could devise a script of my own, let alone serve as playwright, producer, and director, and become proficient in sound design and marketing all at once.”

It also reinforced her belief in what she describes as the roots of theatre: “simple, honest storytelling.”

“Getting to interview people, hear their truths, and share their words and life experiences was meaningful in ways I can't put into words,” Scheuer said.

Milwaukee audiences will soon have the opportunity to see that work. Scheuer will remount Forever Young at the Milwaukee JCC on September 22 and 29 at 7:30 p.m., with tickets expected to go on sale soon. She is also developing her next solo show.

“Trust Yourself”

As Scheuer takes the next step in a career that began in Milwaukee classrooms and youth theatre programs, she has simple advice for young Wisconsin performers hoping to follow their own path into the arts.

“Trust yourself.”

“So many people inside and outside the industry have specific ideas about what an artist should be, who should or shouldn't pursue the arts, about what you must or mustn't do while pursuing the arts, and all of that can be very confusing,” Scheuer said. “Take the advice you love to heart, and leave the advice that holds you back at the door.”

Her strongest advice may also best describe the path she has followed herself.

“You need no one’s permission to pursue a life in the theater; you just need to open your heart, work hard, and trust that what is meant to be will be.”

Scheuer remains quick to credit the Milwaukee theatre community for helping her reach this point.

“I am the artist I am because of arts education, and we cannot underestimate its immense impact on youth,” she said.

She expressed particular gratitude to First Stage and Young Company for inspiring her love of theatre; Milwaukee Rep for fostering her interests in arts administration, fundraising and advocacy through its Teen Council; the Nicolet High School theatre program for teaching her the importance of being a team player; and her family for supporting her throughout the journey.

“Where I am today, pursuing what I love so dearly, is thanks to the incredible Milwaukee theater community,” Scheuer said.

As she prepares for her season with Children’s Theatre Company, Scheuer now finds herself in a position once occupied by the professional actors she admired as a young performer in Milwaukee: stepping onto the stage while helping the next generation of young artists imagine that they might someday do the same.

Photo Credit: Children's Theatre Company

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