By: STO Folarin Oyeleye, Foster High School, Troupe 7961
It’s the most wonderful time of the year (and no, I’m not talking about Thanksgiving)! Festival is only a few days away! I hope all of you are excited to head on over to the Gaylord. I think I speak for all my fellow STO’s when I say that this is the moment we’ve been waiting for since we were candidates. Not only because we get to make festival a fun experience for y’all, but also because we’re going back to an in-person festival! So, let me give you a quick rundown of what to expect, and I’m not talking about IE’s. I’m talking about all our fun little stops as we soar to new heights! Workshops: Workshops are the perfect place to learn new skills. We’ve got a wide array: from sewing to dancing, and from dancing to acting. We’re bringing in the best of the best so you can gain new tools to your theatrical arsenal. Or should I say souvenirs to take home with you after your vacation. Stalls: Look, I’m gonna say just one thing. BRING MONEY! There’s going to be so many vendors selling who knows what (even those cool little steampunk goggles)! But there are two wonderful items you’ll want to save money for: ducks and crazy socks. Both of which you’ll find more info on if you keep on following us :) ACE Events: So, have you ever wondered what it’d be like to be in a room with, let’s say… 8,000+ theatre kids? And you get the experience to see famous guest speakers on stage? Or even better, the STO’s annual dance number! If so, you definitely won’t be disappointed with what we have in store for y’all. The best thing about festival is getting to see various other theatre kids and being able to connect with them. This is something that a lot of us missed out on last year, so we’ll make sure that at this festival, you get that experience back with interest! Counting down the days till we see y’all. See you later, Your 2021 Texas State Thespian Officers
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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 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 By: STO Gentry Phillips, Springtown High School, Troupe 1494
Did you know that in 2020 it was recorded that over 3.6 billion people use social media! That’s almost half of the population! Social media is a good tool to inform and reach out to others. While a lot of people use it for personal reasons, social media is also used by companies, organizations, and of course high school theatre troupes all around the globe. Having social media for your troupe is super fun and useful. It allows your troupe to advertise and inform a larger number of people with a lot less work. How do you make a social media, and how do you make it stick out? This blog will teach you exactly that. What social media can I use? When picking a platform to work with, choose something you know will reach the most people. Have a lot of theatre parents involved in your troupe, use Facebook. Have a large troupe, use Instagram or Twitter. You can work on as many platforms as you like to reach your designated audience. What should I post on my social media? Pictures are the obvious answer to this question. Post pictures of things your troupe is working on or doing like shows, community service, or workshops. Graphics are also something you could post to your feed. Graphics are a great and simple way to get information out, while making your page look super put together. Graphics are relatively easy to make and can be created using websites or apps like Canva or Photoshop. Graphics are a great way to have your social media really stick out! How should I run my troupe's social media? When running your troupes social media it is very helpful to have a calendar or schedule of posts. This way you can be prepared when making graphics and knowing important dates. Putting these items in place allows for things to be organized and put together. What else do I need to know to be successful? Make sure your media presence is strong! Have expectations and goals for your social media. Be consistent, establish your brand, and check your statistics regularly. One of the most important things to remember is to post responsibly. Make sure your feed is full of positive and appropriate content. How your social media looks is a reflection of your troupe. With all these ingredients culminating together, you should have the perfect recipe to start your troupe's own social media. Now get out there and start posting! Catch you on the flip side, Your 2021 Texas State Thespian Officers By: STO Gentry Phillips, Springtown High School, Troupe 1494
Ah yes, fall. The season of pumpkin spice, coldish weather (especially here in Texas), and everyone's favorite autumnal event, fall shows! Theatre students and their directors alike are working hard to make sure the kick off to their show season is one to remember. So, what exactly are the shows that some STO’s are putting on? Let’s find out! STO Abi Colburn, The Woodlands High School, Troupe 1053 What show are you doing? Play That Goes Wrong. Who are the authors? Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields. What is the show about? The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society is putting on The Murder At Haversham Manor, but nothing goes quite as planned. What is your role in this show? I play Annie, the demure stage manager who tries her best to stop things from going wrong, but her efforts never turn out very successful. While fixing technical mishaps, she also steps up to play a role when characters are indisposed. STO Brenna Kenney, Rouse High School, Troupe 7679 What show are you doing? The Government Inspector. Who are the authors? Nikolai Gogol. What is the show about? Set in a small corrupt Russian town in the 1830s, the mayor receives news that a government inspector is incognito and on his way from the capital. The town tries to fix all their foolish mistakes and they shower the inspector with bribes, praise, and love. In this funny and crazy satire, the town realizes that the inspector isn't actually who they originally thought them to be. What is your role in this show? I play Marya Antonvich, who is the troubled teenage daughter of the mayor and his crazy wife. I hate everyone and everything, until I meet and fall head over heels in love with Ivan Khlestakov. STO Talya Hammerman, Ridge Point High School, Troupe 7678 What show are you doing? Peter and the StarCatcher. Who are the authors? Rick Elise. What is the show about? Peter and the StarCatcher serves as a prequel to the well beloved story Peter Pan and provides backstory to many of the characters. What is your role in this show? I play Smee, a very comedic and physical character. He disguises himself as Lieutenant Greggors, causes havoc with Captain Black Stache, and overall is an INCREDIBLY fun character to play. He even dresses like a mermaid and plays the ukulele! What fall shows are you doing? Let us know, Your 2021 Texas State Thespian Officers By: STO Folarin Oyeleye, Foster High School, Troupe 7961; STO Maleah Minyard, John Horn High School, Troupe 6292
Wow, this is quite the year to be a musical lover. First we had In The Heights debut in cinemas earlier this June, and now it looks like it’s Dear Evan Hansen’s turn. The movie rendition of this beloved musical is set to debut on the 24th of September, so we'll make sure to give you all the necessary info to feed your excitement. Playing the man in the title we have Ben Platt. Some of Platt’s previous roles include Elder Cunningham (on the second national tour of The Book of Mormon), and Friedrich (from The Sound of Music). Now his next venture in this movie is one of great enthusiasm. While Platt is aware of fans' worry regarding his aging since his last portrayal of the character, he does assure them by telling them to wait patiently for he has worked fervently, and is more than confident in his abilities. (And just a little fun fact, the premier date of September 24th also happens to be Platt’s birthday! So make sure to hit him up with birthday wishes and love for the movie). Now, for our main love interest, we have Kaitlyn Dever playing as Zoe Murphy. Some of her notable works include her time on Last Man Standing (as Eve Baxter), and her role as Gwen Thompson in An American Girl. This movie will actually be quite a change for Dever as this will be her first major role in a musical related film. She has noted that although filming during the pandemic has been a bit strange, she’s excited that she gets to continue acting. Last but not least, we have Danny Pino as Larry Murphy. Some characters on his resume include Nick Amaro from Law and Order: Special Victim Unit, and as John Bishop in Gone. The interesting thing about Pino’s role as Larry Murphy, the father of Zoe and Connor Murphy, is the change the movie has decided to make. Instead of being their biological father they are instead making him their step father. Whether or not this makes a huge impact on the story is something you can only find out by seeing the movie in theatres when it comes out Dear Evan Hansen is a beautiful story about a boy with social anxiety who wants to make friends. This story, whether you can relate to it or not, is a worthwhile experience. The cast has nothing but love and care for this, and we’re sure that’ll be easily spotted in their performance. Thanks for reading, Your 2021 Texas State Thespian Officers By STO Marisa Berrones
Are you interested in design but don’t know where to start? Well, this is a good place to look! We asked Texas Thespians across the state what questions they had about theatrical design and answered them to the best of our abilities. So let’s soar into theatrical design. Q: What does theatrical design encompass? A: There are four areas of theatrical design: scenery, lighting, costuming, and sound. Without any of these areas, the show will be missing a crucial part of the experience you get from live theatre. Q: When a tech crew is working on designing a show, how can you make sure everyone is on the same page and properly communicating? A: While it may seem like an easy answer, the best way to make sure everyone is communicating effectively is to talk. My favorite way to communicate is by sending out rehearsal reports after each rehearsal and making sure everyone reads it by adding a few questions in! Q: What skills do you need in order to do lighting design? A: Whether you are new to tech, or have been a part of the crew for years and are just starting to learn the ropes of light design, there are no skills needed prior to joining. Just come prepared with a ready-to-learn attitude and lots of extra paper! Q: What is the average size of a set? A: There isn’t one! Every show is different and every stage is different so there is no average set size! Q: In theatrical design, how often do you view the set from the audience’s view? A: I personally look at the set from the audience’s view every time the set is put up and taken down. I also take pictures from the middle of the auditorium to compare the set from other perspectives. For my OAP set last year we changed the setup nearly every day, so watching from the middle and back of the auditorium was crucial to our set design. Q: How does viewing a set design from the audience change the final layout and mapping of the stage? A: Viewing the set from the audience’s perspective allows directors to see where the performers may be hidden, light cues need to be fixed, or props need to be moved. Another part of sitting in the audience during a rehearsal is being able to see if any dialogue is misheard or if any sound cues are too low. Q: What is the average amount of time it takes to fully design a show? A: The average amount of time it takes to design a show is around 4-6 months, but that does not include the hours of rehearsals used to get every last cue exactly how it needs to be. Now go out there, and design those shows! Best of luck, Your 2021 Texas State Thespian Officers By: STO Gentry Phillips, Springtown High School, Troupe 1494
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for… Broadway is finally making its way back onto the stage! After a long wait, shows will finally be opening back up starting in September. Let's take a look at some of the productions we will be seeing back in swing next month! Hadestown Being one of the first shows to reopen, the cast and crew of Hadestown are ready to get back into the saddle! This show will be opening starting September the second. Before their Broadway return, Hadestown has toured in South Korea, these performances being first non-English productions of the show. The North American tour will begin on October fifteenth in D.C.. What an excellent show to kick off the reopening! Waitress Waitress is also reopening on September second! Sara Bareilles is set to star in her musical as the central role come opening day. Waitress’s first show back will take place at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, a new stage for this company seeing that the original production was performed at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre (which is now the home to the musical Six!). Dear Evan Hansen Lastly, Dear Evan Hansen will be reopening on December eleventh. Casting has yet to be announced, but everyone is eager for the list. The London production of the show will be opening back up on October twenty-sixth. The North American tour for Evan Hansen is set to get on the move December seventh. Excited for the things to come, Your 2021 Texas State Thespian Officers By STO Abi Colburn, The Woodlands High School, Troupe 1053
It has come that time to start auditioning for high school shows. Here are some tips and tricks so you will absolutely rock your audition:
2. Know your character. Read up on the show you are auditioning for; it gives you an idea of what the directors are looking for. 3. Don’t be nervous. Everyone gets nervous, but try to remember that the directors are on your side. They want you to be the person that they have been looking for. 4. Don’t apologize. In your audition, don’t be overly apologetic. Be confident in yourself and you will rock it! 5. Don’t be afraid to make choices. Many directors are looking for fresh perspectives to work with. If you have an idea that fits your character and piece, go for it! 6. Pick material from published plays. If you are asked to perform a monologue, pick one from a published play. Directors much prefer it and it makes it easier on you because you can find out exactly what your character is going through using the play. 7. BREATHE. Auditioning can be a very scary thing. You are putting yourself out there in front of directors in the hopes of being casted. Just breathe, taking deep breaths helps calm the nervous system and then you will be more confident in your audition! Hopefully these tips will help you succeed in rocking your high school auditions! And remember, it's just high school. It is not the end of the world if it doesn’t go the way you want it to. Sincerely, Your 2021 Texas State Thespian Officers |
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