What an extraordinary weekend!
I will say, on Thursday morning when I stepped off the airplane in Wichita, Kansas I didn't know what to expect. Boy, was I in for a treat! I had the pleasure of attending the 2015 Drama Conference for the Kansas Thespians hosted in Wichita and I was blown away! As soon as I stepped out of the airport I was greeted by a van full of Thespians who had hearts as big as a jay hawk. Once arriving at the convention center, I was introduced to some of my new best friends, the Kansas STO's! When I was first told there were only 4 STO's that put together a conference of 1,400's, I was a little skeptical. But these four individuals are some of the hardest working student's I have ever had the privilege to meet. Always quick on their feet, anything that was thrown at them they took with out a second thought while balancing college auditions, performing in shows, and spending time with their own troupe. Opening ceremonies soon began with a tremendous performance of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and the STO's and myself got to start our 3 day Ball gown extravaganza, which I LOVE
. 
And after a long night of dancing, day 1 was done.
On day two I was so excited because I got to teach my leadership workshop, everyone who attended was very attentive, took notes, and had no trouble getting up and being involved. After that, I had the privilege of judging the Honor Troupe scrapbooks with Mr. Richard and Ms. Kat. Immediately, I was so impressed with amount of incredible work that is being done by Kansas Thespians! They are actively involved in their communities, they perform a number of educational plays, fund raise like nobody's business, and I would be lying if I said I didn't write down some of these ideas to take home to my own troupe. We proudly gave out Gold Achievement trophies to every trope that presented that day. Then, the STO's and I went to the Broadway Cares auction booth and got to work. In the first hour the booth was up, we raised over $140 in donations alone. I was unable to count the final amount raised with the auction and donations, but I have a good feeling they were high. After a PHENOMENAL performance of Deathtrap, with a visitor from an ACTUAL BAT flying around during the show, Terrence and I helped run the All State Show auditions, James and The Giant Peach. At first, we were so excited for everyone.
But once we hit midnight, and 3 hours of listening to beautiful audition songs, things got a little slow.
But before we knew it, everyone was done and Terrence and I were in bed by 1:30(:
Day three was just as busy, I presented my NAPS workshop to 20 eager students and I was so pleased to get feed back from thespians that were hyped to get back out in their communities and advocate. Many students were interested in the Democracy Works Essay and the workshop was a huge success over all! Eventually, it was time for our last night of ball gowns with my STO's):
Once we got on stage, I introduced the Miracle Minute to the Thespians and they were VERY eager to donate! We introduced Send-A-Troupe and former Doug Finney grant recipient, Rylie, exemplified what amazing things their donations would be doing. In one minute, the Kansas Thespians raised $738.06! For a festival that knew very little about Internationals, it was warming to see them so eager to help fellow thespians. After an hour of presenting awards, cleaning, and saying sorrow full goodbyes, festival was over.
David Hasting's made a wonderful presentation inducting his former theatre teachers into the Kansas Hall of Fame. He presented them a plaque, almost in tears, and a scrapbook full of thank you letters from former students. He made a point to say that although this presentation is nice, "Don't wait until your my age to thank your theatre teachers. Thank them now." And I reminded just how important it is to thank teachers for letting us be involved in such a wonderful organization. Without all of their hard work and dedication, there would be no festival.
Every festival is very different, not just by size and activities, but by the atmosphere. There was no tension of constant competition, no drama, everyone was here because they loved theatre. It wasn't about who had the best show or who main staged in IE's. Everyone was bonded by the power of Thespis and it warms my heart. I can say, without any hesitation, Kansas is representing thespians in one of the highest degrees that I have seen and I am so grateful that I was able to be apart of it.
TIME FOR MY THANK YOU SECTION YAY. I would first like to thank my amazing EdTA Rep that attended Festival with me, Kat Fischer. Thank you for always having my back and going out of your way to make sure I was included and comfortable(: Thank you David Hastins and Steve Landes for keeping me busy and always having a smile and a plan. Thank you Max Brown, Cassy, Mr. Chad and Mr. Richard for being so kind and working so hard for little recognition. Thank you Alyssa, Liz, Tracie, Danysha, and Alex for working so hard at your conferences over the weekend and being my best friends. Thank you Mrs. Carr for always being the brains I need. And finally, thank you to some of my new best friends. Terrence, B, Rylie, and Taylor you guys are doing incredible things. Thank you for always welcoming me with open arms and for all the laughs we were able to share in between. It was genuinely a privilege to get to know all of you and I hope to see you in Nebraska.
Kansas is down, can't wait to see what South Carolina has in store!