If you’re like me, I’m sure you’ve watched more times than you can count. On our recent trip to NYC, all of the International Thespian Officers got to do something most of us only dream about: Hold an actual Tony.
The ITO were given the opportunity to visit the American Theatre Wing on Friday afternoon. It was great to be able to learn more about the organization (and to hold a Tony, of course). That night we saw Waitress (I’m pretty sure Sarah Bareilles walked past me and waved at me) and enjoyed some of New York’s famous cheesecake.
On Saturday, courtesy of the AMAZING Jim Hoare, we were able to use Theatrical Rights Worldwide facilities to hold our meeting. We were able to finalize our plans for the rest of the year. Saturday night, we split up to go see The Color Purple and An American In Paris and ate even more cheesecake.
Bright and early Sunday morning, we ventured through Shubert Alley to work the Broadway Cares Flea Market, with the help of the INCREDIBLE New 
Jersey and New York STO (Thank you, Mr. Wylie and Mr. Drum). The ITO helped to contribute over $2,800 to this amazing organization. In total, BC/EFA raised a record-breaking $782,081 at Sunday’s Flea Market! How awesome is that? While working the selfie stage at the flea market, Brittany and I got the opportunity to talk to Alex Brightman, star of School of Rock on Broadway, about the impact theatre education has had on his life. Mr. Brightman is an awesome guy who really shows that educational theatre ROCKS!
Monday brought about another extremely exciting day. We were able to meet with Tams-Witmark and discuss their gracious sponsorship of the ITO this year! We are so thankful for them! That night, we attended an absolutely fabulous Broadway Back to School event, hosted by Susan Blackwell and Hunter Bell at 54 Below. It was great to celebrate educational theatre with a room full of amazing people, and there was no better way to end our trip.
Our New York trip was such a blast!! The ITO won’t get back together until February, but will be busy traveling to state events in the meantime. We will be attending over 40 state events this year, and can’t wait for festival season to begin. If you want to stay connected with all of our photos, videos, and fun stories from our trips, feel free to follow @internationalthespianofficers on Instagram, @ITOOfficial on Snapchat, The International Thespian Officers on Facebook, @ITOMacKenzieS on Twitter, and feel free to contact me at mstaples@schooltheatre.org at any time. I am so excited for this year and know the real winners of this year will be the wonderful Thespians across the nation! Until next time!