The International Thespian Officers attended four different State Conferences this weekend, spanning over 1,500 miles. I, however, was lucky enough to go to the Maryland Thespian Festival, where I could not even begin to know how much I would enjoy what was in store! After taking the train into the BWI Station late Thursday night and meeting up with the Chapter Director, Dorothy DeLucchi, I was ready for the Conference to begin. I arrived at the school bright and early on Friday, and after brief introductions with many of the MTO’s (the State Thespian Officers in Maryland) and adult Maryland State Board members, we prepared to welcome over 700 kids as they arrived in buses to Tuscarora High School. Their fairytale theme started off with the MTO’s taking the stage with a hilarious scene starring all our favorite Grimm characters going over the rules and regulations at Conference.
I got up and introduced myself to the amazing, energetic auditorium of kids, and immediately Festival was kicked off with one act performances in their MainStage and black box. I then had the opportunity to meet Lynn Jensen, the EdTA representative from Iowa, who had persevered through very little sleep and canceled flights to still be at the Conference! Throughout the day, kids circulated on and off the stage, in and out of auditoriums, and of course through the cafeteria to grab lunch and dinner! That night, the students had the opportunity to attend two workshop sessions, and I taught three eager and budding leaders how to be bold, brave, and unafraid. By the end of the workshop, they had all found their voice, and I was very excited as we headed back to the auditorium hear from the keynote speaker that evening, Bobby Steggert, a theatre, television, and film actor. Lynn and I went back to our hotel afterwards, ready to rest up for the last day of the Festival.
On Saturday, not only were schools performing one-acts in the MainStage and black box areas all day and two workshop sessions were running, IEs, scholarships, and auditions were taking place! It was incredible how hard all the Maryland Thespians worked to put the event together. Everything was planned out, from precise IE schedules to allotted times for fundraisers. Twice on Friday and twice on Saturday Maryland hosted bucket runs for Broadway Cares, ending up raising $730.29! Also on Saturday, they hosted a Minute-To-Give it fundraiser for the Send A Troupe foundation, in which in only one minute they raised $100.00!! In the afternoon, I got to see twenty five senior Maryland Thespians get hypnotized on stage, a performance that had everyone up on their feet, laughing and yelling in amazement. That evening, I again was able to teach my leadership workshop, this time to ten students, six of which had an interest in applying to be MTOs the following year! After I wrapped up my session, some of the senior MTOs talked with the students about their experience in the MTO position and answered the Thespians’ questions. It was great to see so many students interested in leadership positions with Thespians, and I was so glad to have met them all.
The evening closed with a great awards ceremony, complete with IE performances, nominations to perform at the the International Thespian Festival at Lincoln, Nebraska, and the announcement of the total amount fundraised throughout the weekend. I had the pleasure of handing out plaques to schools who qualified for the International Festival and watching the closing performance, a medley of different show tunes fitting the fairytale theme. After heartfelt goodbyes with the MTO’s and adult board members, Lynn and I headed back to our hotel, packed up, and left for Baltimore the next morning. I loved my time in Maryland, and was so grateful to have attended their fantastic event. This struck me again as I got on the train to go home, warmed to see myself tagged in an MTO’s Instagram post captioned, “And they all lived happily ever after!”