On January 3-6, The Pattonville Thespian Troupe attended the annual Missouri International Thespian Conference, hosted in Kansas City. The conference held workshops, performances, and Individual Events for competitions, hosted by different schools.
Junior Bridget Cox attended the conference for the first time this year and plans on making a return next year.
“Overall, the conference was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. Theatre is one of the more important things in my life and being able to learn more about it through workshops was really interesting,” Cox said.
The workshops teach students and sponsors anything anywhere from dance numbers from hit Broadway musicals, to lectures about costume and prosthetic design.
“My favorite part was the dance workshops because learning choreography is one of my favorite parts of the rehearsal process and I had a lot of fun,” junior Courtney Fox said.
On top of the workshops, schools across Missouri are selected to bring their performances to be “Main Stages” and perform for the entire conference. This year, Francis Howell North, Marquette High Schools and others brought their productions of Mean Girls, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, and The Glass Menagerie.
“I really liked getting to see how all of the schools designed their set and costume pieces. A lot of them were really elaborate so it was interesting to see what the different schools could do,” Cox said.
The conference also hosts a competition in all departments of theater for the opportunity to compete at a National level for scholarships and awards. Everything has an Individual Event, from films to musical duets, and stage management to costume design.
Cox participated in the Stage Management IE.
“I really enjoyed doing an IE, however, I was really scared to actually do it,” Cox said. “I don’t normally like public speaking and the thought of being judged for a presentation was terrifying.”
Even with that being said, Cox received a superior for their presentation, giving an exciting close to the conference at the Award Ceremony.
“When it was announced Bridget got superior I screamed I am so proud of them because they worked so hard on that presentation and they 100 percent deserve a superior,” Fox said.
