Michelle Risse has always considered herself to be “one of the theatre,” and will be returning to her theatrical roots in Fairbanks, Alaska this upcoming November, after four years of independent study in New York City.

The pandemic shutdown was right in the middle of this independent study period, and while unwilling to let this stop her creative flow, she decided to pen her very first musical. Previously Risse had written three books that are part of the Singlehood Trilogy, but this was her first attempt at writing anything theatrical and most certainly anything that contained music.

The result was “Unmasked” an original musical comedy featuring two settings First we are introduced to a post-apocalyptic future world where an archeologist is digging in Times Square. It does not take long to discover a pile of diaries, four of which they look into really closely. These four diaries serve as “vignettes” or stand-alone stories and are the basis of this show, and all come from the year 2020, ultimately proving that everyone has a story, and history should not just remember the tragic and sad. In the end, the diaries are put to rest and the papers are so compelling that the Dean sees the need to award the instructor with grant money to continue to
tell these stories.

Risse grew up with an extreme love for Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, and preferred show tunes to pop music. She attended Woodriver Elementary, Ryan Middle, and West Valley High School. After graduating from high school she attended school at UAF, eventually leading to an M. Ed. in Secondary Education. There have been some obstacles along the way but with hard work and a creative vision, anything is possible. Yes, dreams do come true if you let
them!