|
By: STO Gentry Phillips, Springtown High School, Troupe 1494
I think it is safe to say that this UIL season has been jam packed with eventful and impactful shows! All across Texas for the past semester, students like you and me have been working tirelessly to put on these excellent productions, and have achieved many great things for our communities. Each STO would like to congratulate every thespian who participated in this UIL season on making such great art and devoting yourself to your craft. Thank you for putting on such great theatre! On a similar note, congratulations to all our state qualifiers! Your work definelity does not go unnoticed, and we appreciate each and every single cast member, crew member, administrator, and director who has put so much time and effort into these shows. Break a leg at state and represent Texas proud! If your show did not advance to state, never fret! The fact that you were able to put on a show and impact those around you in the first place is a feat in itself, and something to be very proud of! All art is excellent art if it makes you think, brings awareness to a topic, or reaches out to someone who needs it. UIL is a competition, but is also a celebration! Let's celebrate each other and the excellent community of artists we are a part of! With so much love, Your 2021 Texas State Thespian Officers
0 Comments
By: STO Gentry Phillips, Springtown High School, Troupe 1494
I don’t know about you guys, but I love, love, love being sentimental! I think it is so nice and important to look back on an event or a time in our life that may have changed us into the people we are today. This is especially true with theatre! Theatre is one of the best ways to make valuable memories in high school, and it provides us with a lot more than just learning theatrical skills. Theatre is at its core about learning about yourself, the world you live in, and maintaining the skills to go and make your community a better place. Theatre teaches us to communicate! By working in companies with so many diverse individuals, you learn a lot about how to formulate one creation using many ideas. Communication in theatre allows not only for you to make excellent art, but makes way to give praise and express yourself in whatever way you see fit. Communication lets you and others be heard, whether you’re speaking for a cause or just giving your opinion. Communication paves the way for students like all of us to solve real world problems past graduation and makes it so that we are all prepared for what is next after high school. Theatre teaches individuality and self thinking! How boring this planet would be if we all thought the same thing, or all looked the exact same way! By being in theatre we have learned to express ourselves, and are not afraid to show who we are. Theatre has given us pride in being different! Also, theatre has proved a safe and fun community to celebrate all those differences in, and to share our unique talents and experiences with each other. Theatre teaches kindness, compassion, and positive attitudes. By being in theatre we have been exposed to so many different types of people, lifestyles, world events, and cultures. Regardless if we have seen these things first hand, or only through a show, we know that it’s real and are now able to reach out our hands and say “I’m here for you” or “I love you”. Being in theatre makes it so that the world is a little brighter for ourselves, and gives us the opportunity to make the world better for others. I could go on and on for pages about all the wonderful things that we have gained from theatre. It is something truly spectacular to be a part of. So, why not share it? Encourage your friends to audition for a show next year, or to attend an acting summer camp with you. Join a community theatre over the summer with a friend or group and have the time of your life! Share these experiences with someone you love, reach out a hand, you never know how bad they might need it. Much love and keep learning! Your 2021 Texas State Thespian Officers By: STO Folarin Oyeleye, Foster High School, Troupe 7961
Hello everyone, we’re back with another weekly blog. Now, I have a question for y’all. When you think about theatre, what is the image that pops up in your head? If you imagined a stage, lights, or blackbox, that's great but . . . Those answers aren’t what I was looking for. What I wanted you to imagine was our emblem for theatre, the sock and buskin (the happy and sad mask). Masques have been an important part of theatre for many decades now, so why not take a look into our theatrical history to gain a better understanding of them? To gain some insight into masques we must first go back to the heart of theatre, ancient greece! Masques were a nifty tool used by actors to not only play a multitude of roles, but to also convey a wide range of emotions. Due to the amphitheater being so spacious, the use of masques allowed for the audience to clearly see the emotions being expressed from the newfound visibility as opposed to the limitations of what an actor could do with just their face. However, this idea truly flourished with the prospect of stylized masques. These helped tell the audience the difference between who was a hero, villain, or other noteworthy character. With commedia dell’arte also incorporating this with notorious characters such as Capitano, Harlequin (go read our pantomime blog if you want more backstory on him) and his various compatriots. As for places throughout history you would see the implementation of masques, one would be at the English Banqueting House. In the 16th century it was very common for masque performances to be put on to celebrate special events. However, the death of Charles the 1st’s death and in fighting soon led to its demise until a later restoration. Now, for just one final tangent, let us look in depth as to the history of the sock and buskin. Dionysus the god of wine was usually depicted as having a masques, so in order to honor him his worshippers birthed masques. They were not only a distinction between the two genres of play (comedies/tragedies) but they were also a separation of human nature. That’s how the symbol came about, but the name’s origin is somewhat different. The sock and buskin names derived from the fact that comedies were identified by a soccus (a piece of footwear akin to a slipper) and a buskin (laced half-boot) for tragedies. Well, there you have it folks. A quick rundown as to the history and meaning of masques in theatre. I hope you had a good read, and as always, I encourage y’all to do further research if this is a subject that piques your interest. Best wishes, Your 2021 Texas State Thespian Officers Source: https://costumes.lovetoknow.com/Theatre_Masks#:~:text=The%20tradition%20of%20theatre%20masks,but%20they%20are%20always%20evocative. https://anhistorianabouttown.com/the-history-of-masques/ https://www.brown.edu/about/history/timeline/sock-and-buskin-theater-company-founded By: STO Marisa Berrones, Midland High School, Troupe 3376  STO Campbell Lemons was a part of Troupe 7963, where she worked as an actress. She served on the 2019 board when the theme was “Build” and on the 2020 board when the theme was “Come One, Come All”. She is currently a freshman in college!
Q: What was it that made you want to run to be an STO? A: If I am being completely honest, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I saw a post on Instagram about applications being open and I just went for it. Q: What is your favorite memory of being an STO? A: My favorite memory was opening Secret Pilgrim gifts at Festival in 2019, it was both hilarious and emotional. It was one of our last moments as a board and extremely memorable, to say the least. Q: What was your favorite musical then? What is it now? A: Then: Newsies Now: Waitress Q: What did you learn as an STO that you still carry with you? A: I learned it truly means to leave it better than you found it, and I try and focus on that in every endeavor. Q: If you could go back, what would you have done differently in high school? A: Focused on the little things that made the big events even better. Q: What would you have done differently in your troupe? A: I would have focused on creating a better environment for the underclassmen. Q: What would you have done differently as an STO? A: I’m not sure I would’ve done anything differently. Everything that happened, both years I was an STO, happened for a reason and lead us to grow together while becoming better leaders and people. Q: If you could send your troupe one message what would it be? A: Stay focused. Would you like to be like Campbell and represent Texas Thespians? Check out how to become an STO here! |
TEA CPE Provider #902-342
|
|