We were saddened to learn of the death of our friend and colleague Debra Barnum of St. Petersburg, Florida, after a long illness. A longtime Florida chapter director who was inducted into the EdTA Hall of Fame in 2011, she built the Florida Thespian Festival into the large and vibrant event it is today.
Here's the biography her brother Robert sent us when she was nominated for the Hall of Fame.
Debra Barnum, (B.A. Adelphi University., M.A. directing, Roosevelt University) served as theater educator and arts advocate in Florida from 1985-2009. She developed a top notch theatre program at Dixie Hollins High School in St. Petersburg, while serving as a vital member of Florida State Thespians, Florida Theatre Conference, and Florida Association for Theatre Education (FATE), Arts for a Complete Education (ACE), and SETC. Under her leadership as Florida State Director (1988–1995), she organized a working board, revamped the state handbook, moved the Thespian Festival to downtown Tampa, with professional theater space (Tampa Bay PAC) and Convention Center, more than tripled attendance, and expanded the festival to three full days of student theatre events, including professional workshops and performances. Cash awards in technical theatre, college scholarship auditions, partnerships with Music Theatre International, Manhattan Tour and Travel, Dramatists Play Service, and more became the norm. At her own school she developed a career academy (Artech), directed mainstage productions at state festival, one act productions featured at Scotland's Fringe festival and NYC, prepared students for competition and auditions, and organized a district performance. As Board member of ACE, FATE, and FTC she worked on developing and revising the Sunshine State standards, state theatre assessment test; she published the FATE newsletter, and adjudicated mainstage productions around the state.