North ITS Members Get Deeper Glimpse of Theatre at State Conference

The world of theatre can be a place where people show their passions for the world through creativity. At the annual state conference on Jan. 14 through 16, twelve members of the International Thespian Society, Troupe 4554, at Parkway North, interacted and competed with people from ITS troupes from all around the state and explored the different realms of theatre.

“I feel that this conference is especially important [because] most high school students have a limited view of the world. They know what they have experienced or witnessed within the walls of their school. Being able to see other students who have the same interests as they do is important to understanding that they are not alone in their passion for theatre,” said theatre director Chad Little.

The conference pushes students to meet new people and create new experiences by going to different workshops throughout the day including workshops about musical theatre, dancing, acting, improv, and playwriting. Each workshop is 45 minutes to an hour long.

“I took a dance class and learned the choreography from one of the songs from the musical Pippin, which I wouldn’t normally have done. One of my friends was doing it, and I thought ‘Why not?’ I enjoyed it more than I thought I would have,” said sophomore Bailey Annan.

Students had opportunities to meet professionals including Ben Jeffrey who played Pumbaa in The Lion King on Broadway.

“It was really cool, and [Jeffrey] was really inspirational because he talked about [working] the giant puppets in The Lion King and how when one of the arms from one of the puppets fell off, he said ‘Need a hand?’ It made me think about trying new things and that even though you might fail, you try so you should persevere,” said sophomore Danielle Goldberg.

Some of the other activities that occurred at the conference included competitions, preparing for auditions, and scholarship interviews. At the end of the conference, there was an All State performance of Iphigenia in Aulis in which students had to be specially selected to both perform in and work on technical theatre.

Sophomore Bryn Sentnor received a Superior Rating in Solo Musical Theatre Performance, and senior Brian Wasserman received an Excellent Rating in Scenic Design.

Senior Mary Carter was one of three North students who was chosen to work on the All State performance. “Last conference, I applied for a tech position in the Missouri All State Show and I was put on construction. We met three times over the past year. We built the set in about three days, and it went up Thursday [Jan. 12]. I have done tech before and I normally try to do both tech and performing, but since it was [highly intense], I couldn’t do both,” said Carter.

Though not every student who attended the conference worked on the All State show, many were extremely impressed by the performance and the ways it was presented.

“I usually don’t like Greek tragedies because I find them to be boring, but this one was really good. The acting and the two story set were beautiful. Being a tech person, I know how much [work] was put into the show. The actors were really talented people. Some of them literally made themselves cry because they were so good,”said Annan.

The production of Iphigenia was also modernized and incorporated the Syrian refugee crisis into the setting.

“I thought the All State show was very cool how modern and relevant it was. Connecting it to the Syrian refugee crisis [made it about] doing what’s right for the people and for yourself. [It showed me that] leadership is about doing what’s right and trying to figure out what the right thing to do is,” said Goldberg.

by Kyle Wolfe, Side Dish Czar