Ashley Day Fabre '02: "Everything happens for a reason."

The story of Evangeline depicts a strong woman who trusts her own heart and remains committed to a dream, refusing to settle for less despite the challenges and obstacles this presents.  Such a compelling character leaves a lasting impression on the audience as they experience first-hand her lifetime of waiting and hoping. But what is it like to be Evangeline?

For 2002 Episcopal graduate Ashley Day Fabre, the experience is something she’ll treasure forever.  Fabre was the first actress to portray teenage Evangeline in the very first production twenty years ago.  Now looking back on her life, she’s amazed to see so many parallels between herself and the Cajun heroine.

Ashley became a part of the Episcopal family in third grade and wasn’t on campus long before she entered a lip sync contest.  This born performer and daughter of a former Golden Girl wowed the crowd and ultimately won the contest at only eight years old.  This 

 first performance fueled her love of theater and she knew she had discovered her niche.

​Upon graduation Ashley thanked her family for providing her with the Episcopal experience and headed off to Belmont University with a sense of promise and purpose.  At Belmont East in New York, Ashley attended classes in the Empire State Building and interned at MTV Studios in Times Square.  She dedicated herself to her studies and spent long hours at the studio gaining real-world experience.  ​With such passion and commitment, she graduated Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in business administration focusing on music and production. Ashley’s hard work also earned her a job with MTV right out of college as the Studio Coordinator for shows such as Total Request Live, MTV News and the annual New Year’s Eve Special. She says she truly loved the work and the opportunity to meet celebrities such as Madonna, Stevie Wonder and Green Day.  Her 100 percent commitment to the dream had truly paid off.

And then, Ashley came home to Baton Rouge for a brief visit. She attended a crawfish boil and met Travis. She remembers thinking that meeting a man from her hometown wasn’t exactly part of her plan – after all she lived in New York and had a flourishing career.  However, she continued talking to Travis over the long distance and eventually made the life-changing decision to relocate.

“Love brought me home,” Ashley says.

However, before Ashley made that move home she was determined to secure a job in her field.  As she was deciding to 

follow her heart, something quite unexpected occurred. The state of Louisiana got into the film industry.  This meant Ashley, with her years of experience in the entertainment business, could come home to be with her love, while remaining true to her dream.

​Ashley remembers back to her early relationship with Travis, who just happens to be a Cajun, and who had never seen the story of Evangeline.  She brought Travis to the show’s ten year anniversary run at Playmakers. Travis, like most others who see it, was moved by the story of love and loss and waiting.  In fact, he was so moved by the production that while walking out of the theater, the two decided right then and there that if they ever had a daughter her name would be Evangeline.

​Evangeline Ann Fabre was born in May of 2013.  Following her heart back to Baton Rouge was truly worth it for Ashley, having married Travis in August of 2009. Soon, their second daughter Adelaide Mary was born in April of 2015.  Ashley worked in the Baton Rouge film industry for ten years, including 25 productions for networks like Syfy and Lifetime.  She enjoyed the work, but eventually the 16 hour days proved to be too much for this wife and mom.

To focus more on her family, Ashley broke into the world of development at the Manship Theater. Later, in November of 2017 she was named the Director of Development for the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, whose mission is to foster the creative capacity and vibrancy of the capital region through advocacy, resources, and education.  For Ashley, sharing her love of art has helped her come full circle, back to where it all began. Her new role has given her the opportunity to reconnect with the very people she first met on the Episcopal stage as a third grade lip sync performer years ago.

As the 20th anniversary of Evangeline draws near, Ashley feels a connection with the lead as strong as ever.  Like Evangeline she never settled for less, she made her own decisions regarding her life and she trusted her heart to lead the way.  Ashley looks back on her time at Episcopal and says the experience and the people here have made her who she is today.​

She remembers former theater director Danny Tiberghein’s poster that said “Why be Normal?” and reflects daily on his influence.  Each day she hopes to make him proud. She credits current theater director Paige Gagliano with instilling in her a sense of purpose as she helped bring meaning to the scripts they performed.  She remembers Bible study with Mrs. Johanna Leonard and the sense of community and faith that Episcopal created for her.

When asked what advice this original Evangeline has for today’s Evangeline, Ashley offers this:

“Enjoy the ride.  It’s so special to be on that stage and to be a part of that community.”  Ashley also hopes the current Evangeline will take the experience with her wherever she goes, similar to how Ashley has done since first portraying the role.

Ashley Day Fabre has crafted a life that she loves, while remaining true to herself.  She lives by the motto “Everything happens for a reason”. Looking back it’s easy to see that everything that happened led her to her biggest, most rewarding roles – wife, mom and passionate arts promoter.

Congratulations Ashley.  Evangeline would be proud!

The 20th anniversary run of “Evangeline” begins this weekend.  Click here to purchase your tickets today!