By: STO Gentry Phillips, Springtown High School, Troupe 1494
There are many ways a theatre can be unique and special. Things such as when the theatre was built, the history of the theatre, or the way the stage and backstage areas are constructed can all give a performance space character. However, a majority of this character can also lie in another trait theatres have in common. What would that be? Why ghosts of course! These invisible, sometimes mischievous, companions really do add personality to any space, including theatres! My theatre is haunted by a ghost named Dave. Dave likes to make sounds in the catwalk and mess with the lightboard, what joy! Multiple people in my troupe have had experiences regarding Dave, myself included. My freshman year we were doing a public performance of our One Act Play. Emotions had run pretty high that night, so I was in the very dark and very empty black box trying to collect myself. I was sitting on a couch, when I heard a strange sound come from behind me. I turned around to find nothing but a Christmas tree on the floor, so I turned back around. Maybe it was my imagination? But then, it happened again! I turned around and this time I saw the Christmas tree sliding back into the dark. Needless to say, I am now very afraid of the black box. I’m not the only STO that has a haunted theatre or spooky friend hanging out. STO Talya and STO Michael have also had some paranormal experiences in their performance spaces as well! STO Talya Hammerman from Ridge Point High School, troupe 7678, reports that her theatre ghoul-friend is relatively chill! This ghost lives in the fly rail and provides the occasional chill all throughout the auditorium. She also likes to turn out all the lights and only turn on the one Talya’s troupe has deemed as her “ghost light”. Don’t fret, Talya reports that this haunt is very friendly, sometimes it even feels as if this ghost is watching over them. How nice! STO Michael Hernandez from Royse City High School, troupe 8003, says that there have been multiple instances when he has felt another presence in an empty room. Michael’s theatre is built on top of am abandoned race track where unfortunately a terrible accident occurred, which resulted in one of the racers passing on. Michaels troupe says that many times they will hear creaking and other mysterious noises all around their performing arts center. Once Michael was alone in the makeup room when he thought he saw someone standing behind him in one of the mirrors. He turned around to find nobody else there! He looked back at himself in the mirror to only then experience a sudden chill occurring on his neck, as if someone was breathing on him. Creepy! Regardless if your current theatre is haunted or not, every thespian will encounter some supernatural friend in some performance space. Remember to be kind and courteous, ghosts are friends! Happy Halloween! Your 2021 Texas State Thespian Officers
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By: STO Gentry Phillips, Springtown Highschool, Troupe 1494
Spooky season is officially in full swing! Break out the Jack O’ Lanterns and costumes, it’s time to get festive! Regardless if you’re up for spooky shenanigans or not, every theatre kid can share this one fear: stage fright!!! Stage fright, the monster under the bed for everyone that has ever stepped foot on stage. This can be a big challenge to get over, the anxiety of it all can be overwhelming in itself. So, how do we combat this and bewitch this ghoul back into its proper place? Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need to make the perfect potion to stop being afraid of taking the stage. Ingredient one: a bottle of preparedness. Being prepared not only helps you know your stuff when performing, but also gives you confidence! Being fully aware of things like lines, cues, and blocking makes you ready to go at any time. Knowing your stuff and being prepared is the best thing you can do for yourself and for your company as a whole. Ingredient two: a bushel of healthy eating. Make sure before any performance you are giving your body good things to digest! Avoid caffeinated drinks and eat a sensible meal before your show. It's the worst when you perform on an empty stomach! Take care of yourself, the show is not the only priority. Ingredient three: a pinch of positive focus. Instead of focusing on yourself or what could go wrong, put the focus on your character, the people around you, or having fun! Hyperfocusing on the bad will just make you even more scared to show your stuff. You know you’re great, so be confident and have fun! With these tools you should be more than prepared enough to face whatever is hiding in the shadows. With this newfound confidence, you’ll be able to hex stage fright right out of your life (hopefully) forever! If the results don’t work the first time, just keep working at it! Trust me, there are no negative side effects to this brew. Stay spooky, Your 2021 Texas State Thespian Officers By: STO Karis Klammer, Montgomery High School, Troupe 5986 After a super busy summer it is finally down to pull out the cute sweaters, bring out the spooky decorations, and order all of your favorite pumpkin spiced flavored items. I mean, who doesn’t love fall? October is one of my favorite months of the year because of a very special holiday that takes place. You might assume that I am talking about Halloween, but here at Texas Thespians, we are talking about J-Fest! J-Fest stands for Junior Festival, and is a mini festival that takes place for junior high school. You may be thinking “Karis, it says junior in the title! How good can it be?” well I am glad that you asked and I will answer with a story! Back in June when the STOs were at camp, our lovely Junior Festival Direction, Miss Gette, told us these words when we were planning J-Fest. “If big festival is a cake, J-Fest is a cupcake” as you can imagine, we were all very confused. How could an analogy about delicious desserts possibly be an outline for an entire festival? After thinking about it for a while it started to make sense! Our goal is to make J-Fest just as fun an experience as Big Festival, and to give junior high students a headstart for starting high school theatre. Here are some of the workshops that the STOs will be teaching at J-Fest! Acting: Starting with this one, because I will be teaching it! Here we will learn about the importance of warm ups and character voices! We will also be heavily discussing what to expect and how to prepare for auditions. Tech: In the Tech workshop, students will learn about all the different elements of technical theatre. From stage managing to props to lighting and scenic design! You will learn it all! There will also be many opportunities for everyone to ask question! J-Fest will be such an incredible learning experience for our young thespians and we are so excited to be seeing everybody on October 23! Sincerely, Your 2021 Texas State Thespian Officers |
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