NSU alum will appear on National Geographic adventure series

NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University alumna Stephanie Hodgdon will appear in the premier episode of a new National Geographic series, “The Raft” this Sunday, April 5 at 9 p.m. CST.  “The Raft” is an adventure reality show that tests human endurance. The show follows two pairs of strangers as they fight for survival on a 4’x4′ rubber raft in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle.

“I’ll be tweeting live while I watch the show for the first time as it airs on the west coast,” Hodgdon said, inviting others to follow her at @StephHodgdon twitter.com/StephHodgdon.

Since her graduation from Northwestern State University with a BA in theatre in 1997, Hodgdon has performed all over the world. Some of her favorite roles include Laurey in “Oklahoma!” and Anne in “La Cage Aux Folles” at The Mac-Haydn Theatre in Chatham, New York. She has toured across the U.S. and sung for young audiences as Beauty in “Beauty and The Beast” and Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” with American Family Theatre. Hodgdon has performed extensively at sea, and exclusively for Princess Cruises for over 10 years. She was chosen as a vocalist and vocal captain for the inaugural cast of the Ruby Princess, an experience that involved taking part in workshops for the new shows to be mounted on the Ruby. This experience culminated with a live cast performance during the ship’s naming ceremony in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Hodgdon has appeared in national commercials for Biore’, Montgomery Ward and Liberty Mutual. Since moving to Los Angeles, she co-founded the sketch comedy troupe, The iNTecollectuals. The iNT’s have performed in sketch festivals across the U.S., winning Best of the Fest 2011 and Best Sketch Group 2012 at The LA Comedy Festival. Making further use of their edgy comedic style, they have gone on to write their own sitcom pilot called “The Alley.” They are currently shopping the script and have plans to film “The Alley” this summer.

All the while, Hodgdon has never abandoned her passion for singing. She performs regularly with the Broadway-calibre, Live It Up Productions, based in Palm Springs and Divas3 out of Las Vegas. Last week, she was invited by Princess Cruises to sing “Defying Gravity” with none other than the song’s composer, Stephen Schwartz accompanying her on the piano. The performance was part of an event announcing the creative partnership of Stephen Schwartz and Princess Cruises which will produce four brand new musical production shows with original content by Schwartz exclusively for Princess.

Hodgdon decided to really push herself outside her comfort zone last fall when she was cast for the pilot episode of  “The Raft.” Each 4‘x4’ raft faces the challenge of lasting for one week with the option to “tap out” at any time.

Information on “The Raft” is available at the National Geographic Channel website:  http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/the-raft/galleries/bump-in-the-night/at/drastically-under-skilled-2093214/