Frozen actresses melt Sheridan hearts during encouraging visit with students

August 26, 2025

As the sounds of the famous song “Let It Go” filled Sheridan Elementary School’s gym, fifth grader Elizabeth looked around and delivered an Elsa-like smile with her singing classmates.
 
Dozens of Sharks met professional actresses from the Disney musical “Frozen” during an inspiring hour of talking and singing. Ensemble members Brittany Rohm and Jasmine Swaby encouraged students with stories of their own journeys to the big stage and provided helpful advice for the younger artists. Sheridan fifth graders will perform “Frozen” for their school musical in December.
 
Elizabeth said she enjoyed learning about Rohm and Swaby’s artistic abilities. She said one of the highlights was joining more than three dozen students in a circle for a singing session with the experts. She said it gave her an avalanche-sized amount of confidence for Sheridan’s own “Frozen” experience this semester.
 
“I think singing in the circle was really cool,” Elizabeth said. “Just looking around and seeing all of us just singing together as one big group, I feel like our musical is going to be really good.”

 
Perry said he also had fun listening to the “Frozen” cast members. Rohm and Swaby both told the Sharks to believe in themselves and pursue their dreams in all areas of life.
 
“I felt it kind of helped us, because it made us think that we can do anything we want and we can be anything,” Perry said.
 
Rohm and Swaby came to Nebraska as part of a “Frozen” co-production with the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Kansas City Starlight Theater and the Lied Center for Performing Arts. Rehearsals began July 10 and the cast opened the show in Pittsburgh July 18. They traveled to Kansas City before spending two weeks entertaining Lincoln audiences.
 
Sheridan music teacher Megan Stroup selected “Frozen” for the school’s 2025 musical before knowing that the professional show would be part of the Lied’s lineup. She reached out to Lied Education Outreach Manager Sasha Dobson to see if it would be possible to set up a visit with the Sharks. She was thrilled when Dobson told her in mid-August that there would be heartwarming moments for students in the gym.
 
“As a teacher, I look forward to referencing this visit throughout our preparation for ‘Frozen,’” Stroup said. “I think it will have a long-lasting and positive impact. It’s not often that a show you choose a year in advance ends up perfectly aligning with the Lied Center schedule! It is such a unique opportunity for kids of any age to interact with performers from the big stage.”

Stroup shared the happy news with the Sheridan fifth graders when they began the new school year. What was it like when everyone learned that Rohm and Swaby would be coming to campus?
 
“Oh, we were stoked,” Elizabeth said. “We were so excited. We were just so excited because they’re actually in the real production of “Frozen,” and we’re doing “Frozen.” We just were really excited to meet them and sing with them and ask them some questions, because we were really interested about it.”
 
Rohm grew up in Pennsylvania and went to high school at Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) 6-12. The magnet school features intensive instruction in art forms such as music, dance, theater and production technology. She and other CAPA students frequently met people whose tours or shows stopped in Pittsburgh during their classes. She said it was an amazing feeling to be on the other side of those artistic conversations at Sheridan.
 
“I feel like it’s impacted me in a lot of ways, but specifically, I remember sitting there listening to those actors and just thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, I would love to do that one day,’” Rohm said. “It’s really special to be able to now be that actor standing there and answering these questions for these kids.”
 
Swaby recently graduated from Point Park University in Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance with a concentration in jazz. She also minored in biological sciences with a pre-med track. She wanted students to know it is okay to chase a range of interests, especially as they move through middle and high school.
 
“I hope they just try things,” Swaby said. “I think that’s the biggest gift anyone can have, is just the lack of a fear of trying things.”
 
Perry said he and other Sharks will carry that message with them to their auditions. All fifth graders can try out for two roles such as Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Hans and Queen Iduna. They asked Rohm and Swaby how they practiced for on-stage interviews, what they enjoyed about acting and how they overcame nervousness.
 
“I think it really helped, because a lot of people are like, ‘I don’t know what to do. I’m scared, I don’t know what I’m going to do,’ and that kind of helped us make our confidence build up,” Perry said.
 
Stroup said it was “nothing short of magic” to watch her students sing “Frozen” songs with Rohm and Swaby in a chorus-filled circle. She said the Sharks would replay those moments for many years to come.
 
“These experiences can be very meaningful and memorable to students,” Stroup said. “Seeing performers on a stage in a formal setting can create a barrier between performer and audience member, so this kind of experience makes the performers feel real and dreams feel tangible.”
 
Visit home.lps.org/music to learn more about the comprehensive preK-12 music curriculum at LPS. Music enriches the lives of all students through classes, activities and performing groups.
 
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