Wow it has been an awesome month of theatre education! Last weekend, I flew to Columbus, Ohio for the Ohio Thespian Conference, themed “Discover your Role” with my ITO Gal, Carly Radebaugh. It was a wonderful weekend filled with theatre, ducks and fun!
I arrived in Columbus Friday morning and after a quick drive to Dublin High School, I met the awesome Ohio STO and began helping set up the school for the conference! At nearly every other conference I have attended, the STO have sold rubber ducks but no duck sale is like Ohio! The Ohio STO sold 4,104 ducks with all money going to the Ohio Thespian Scholarships and all 4,104 ducks were sold out by Saturday evening. The tradition is unlike any I have ever seen and it is AWESOME! Students flooding into the STO room were buying 10, 25 even 50 ducks at a time! The STO also sponsored a random t-shirt grab, a bake sale and coin wars to benefit Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS.
Opening ceremonies began with the Ohio STO welcoming video featuring Carly as the “duck wizard” and I also got a chance to talk about all the great things that are going on in the International Thespian Society. That evening, I watched the All-Ohio Show “She Kills Monsters” and was blown away at the talent and passion in the show.
As usual I taught my leadership workshop “Be the Change” Saturday morning to a great group of students eager to learn about making a difference at their own schools. Carly and I taught also taught N.A.P.S (fully recharged with new information we learned at Arts Advocacy Day) later on in the afternoon. One of my favorite parts about being ITO is getting to hear the good things and struggles that student’s theatre programs are facing. No matter where I go, students who have never met one another can connect via theatre!
After lunch I watched Carly present her workshop “How to Knock on Opportunities Door” and was so proud of my friend for her hard work! We then went back to the STO room and continued to help the STO sell ducks, baked goodies and t-shirts!
Saturday evening I had the incredible opportunity to be a “speller” in Sylvania Northview High School’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee! My first time seeing the show was at the Texas State Thespian Festival and absolutely loved how the audience was involved in the production so I was thrilled to be a part of the show!
It was very apparent that Ohio Thespians are one big family! The sense of community was vibrant and I felt right at home. Sunday afternoon closing ceremonies were bitter sweet, but I am so thankful for my old and new friends from Ohio! While at closing ceremonies, Ohio Thespians raised $535.29 in one minute to benefit Send a Troupe!
In a few weeks I will be attending my last conference for the season in Salem, Oregon! Make sure you follow my trip from one corner of the country to another on snapchat (ITOOfficial), instagram (internationalthespianofficers), twitter (ITOEmmaA), and Facebook (International Thespian Officers). Until next time!