How To Create a Theme

By: STO Folarin Oyeleye, Foster High School, Troupe 7961, and STO Gentry Phillips, Springtown High School, Troupe 1494

Themes are a great way to make ideas take flight! You can use a theme for pretty much anything. Parties and special occasions are where themes are most commonly found, but as most of you likely know, each year the STO’s plan a theme for Thespian Festival that happens every November! However, the question is, how do you create and execute a theme? With a little hard work, a great crew of people, and some fun ideas, any theme can be executed turbulence free! 

The first thing to do when coming up with a theme is to brainstorm. Let’s say you’re planning a social event for your troupe to celebrate the winter holidays; the troupes’ board should come together and air out some ideas that could fit the type of celebration. Your theme could be traditional or something a little more quirky! It’s all up to what best fits the needs of your troupe.

Next, you’ll want to plan out your theme in its entirety. Figure out how you’ll come together as a crew and steer your ideas in the right direction. This step will be very detail oriented, and will require you to think about a variety of things. For example, will you be serving food at the gathering? Who will pay for this food? Does anyone in the troupe have allergies? Things like decorations, time and place, and activities will also need to be thought out in order for your theme to truly take flight. 

After everything is planned you’ll want to start gathering your resources. Who will be able to host the event and where can you have it? If you need funding for the social, think of how you can get it or if someone would sponsor you. Also, this step will include actually setting up your social or banquet. This process will be a breeze if you have all hands on deck, ready and willing to work.

Obviously, creating and accomplishing the theme won’t be as easy as it sounds on paper. This task can be a grueling one and it might require you to travel to great lengths in order to make your ideas work the way you want them to. Trust us, we went through a lot of that this year. However, if you put your mind to it and stay determined, there’s nothing you can’t do!

Let your theme ideas soar,
Your 2021 Texas State Thespian Officers