As a murder mystery nerd on her first state festival as an EdTA Rep, I loved the CLUE-inspired theme for the Nebraska festival and felt instantly welcomed to start what was an outstanding experience. After arriving in Lincoln to a warm welcome, the Nebraska Thespians’ STO kicked off with a full day of leadership, including taking the Meyer-Briggs test, and ending with the making of their sashes to wear all weekend long. The creativity and talent didn’t end there!
Troupe after troupe braved the icy roads and cold weather through the snow to arrive for an excellent weekend of educational theatre. Once they arrived, events started right away and continued almost non-stop all weekend long that started with the STO performing a short opening around the CLUE theme dressed as the iconic characters.
One of the unique things about Nebraska’s conference is that each troupe is invited to create a display around the theme. Troupes were very creative with their displays from recreating the board game to building a complete mini-house with rooms that had actual clues inside! Also around the theme, banners were created by troupes. The banners were paraded across the stage to showcase both their troupe and the theme.
Really it’s the student work that stands out. The Main Stage productions of The Addams Family, High School Musical, and The Tall Girls all showcased the incredible talents of high school programs across the state.
Students also interviewed for scholarships and auditioned for colleges, with impressive lists of productions and skills. Other students spent time in the exciting Tech Challenge demonstrating that techies rock, too! Improv Teams played several rounds of games before being put into mixed teams where they did their best to follow the main rules of improv to earn extra points for their team.
During the weekend, they also had a full vendor fair and slate of workshops. I picked up some theatre-themed buttons and posters for my own classroom, as well as learn a new ballroom dance and refreshed how to tie a bowline knot. In fact, I noticed that Nebraska had an excellent balance of both acting and tech workshops to feed any student’s desire for learning.
Another impressive event is the banquet. All of the students and troupe directors dress up for a semi-formal dinner where teacher awards are given. Everyone looked so elegant!
One of the main highlights of the weekend outside of the student performances was professional actor and guest artist, Quentin E. Darrington. He shared his inspirational story, performed several times, and offered master workshops. His presence was definitely a hit!
Closing ceremonies were bitter sweet as showcase performers, and both scholarship and award winners gave their last bow of the night. Many thanks were shared for all of the chapter director, state board, troupe directors, chaperones, admin, and others who volunteer their time to make such an amazing event come together.
I want to give a special shout out to Chapter Director Angela Dashner, NE Thespians State Board and STOs, and ITO Rep Natasha Schlaffer with whom I served over the weekend, for having such a successful event!