Thespian Society Attends and Enjoys Pennsylvania State Festival
December 10, 2018
International Thespian Society (ITS) students traveled to North Penn High School to attend Pennsylvania’s ITS Festival.
Thespian students arrived in Lansdale, Pennsylvania Thursday afternoon and departed Saturday night, spending most of the time at the festival.
While there, students got to participate in many different activities related to theatre.
Shows students got to watch included Kennard Dale’s “These Shining Lives,” Neshaminy’s “James and the Giant Peach,” and North Penn’s own version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Junior Sophia Wetzel saw North Penn’s show’s differing vantage point.
“I thought it was very cool to see a different perspective of the show. They interpret it differently than we did, and I thought it was a different twist,” said Wetzel.
Senior Lily Stockbridge is inspired when watching other schools perform.
“Watching the other schools perform is always awesome because we get to see a bunch of people our age who are super talented put on their shows,” said Stockbridge. “Even though some of the shows themselves might be a bit boring, the talent is always captivating. Plus, many of us are friends with kids from other schools so when they perform, it is a great opportunity to support them.”
Students also got to participate in workshops, from learning how to analyze a script, to making costumes out of glue sticks, to learning dance numbers from Broadway shows.
Junior Hannah Adler thoughtthe festival was different compared to a school environment.
“It was really interesting, because you’re so used to your school where everyone has different opinions, but you can bond with someone you don’t know,” said Adler. “I bonded with someone in my dance class because we loved the same show. It was weird because all of us kids today aren’t used to that.”
Several colleges were there for students to browse and connect with, along with scholarships students could go out for.
Senior Cora Dunaja was inducted into the thespian acting hall of fame, sophomore Kaitlyn Ness was inducted into the thespian tech hall of fame and senior Camryn Brakmann was inducted into a new hall of fame – the thespian excellence hall of fame.
Adler was chosen to be a state thespian officer for the 2019-2020 school year.
Adler already has ideas about what next year’s festival will be like.
“I hope next year’s ITS Fest is gonna have a better theme,” said Adler. “I feel like this year the theme wasn’t that inclusive, so I really wanna have a better theme. Plus, we’ll be at York College, so we’ll have a better atmosphere and get to walk around, so it’s gonna be pretty cool.”
Wetzel appreciates being able to share her passion for theatre.
“You get to talk to other people who love the same thing as you, which is really nice because they have the same interests as you, and you get to make new friends that you’re not typically used to, and you get to work with people you’re not used to, so it’s really an eye-opening experience,” said Wetzel.
