Every year in December the Colorado State Thespian Conference, a convention over the course of three days, takes place. This is a place where students can learn from masters in workshops on auditioning, singing, acting, dancing, directing, stage managing, and much more all within the Denver Convention Center. The high school conference is attended by about 5,600 of the most committed high school theater students from Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico, ranging in grades from 9 to 12. Additionally more than a thousand sixth- through eighth-graders attend the one-day Junior Thespian Conference. Any theater student is welcome to attend the conference. The conference isn’t only beneficial for the opportunities to attend workshops but also the financial compensation students might receive from colleges. Dedicated to supporting the academic theater community, colleges, conservatories, and universities throughout the state have given students attending their events scholarships valued more than $4 million. These events include acting, directing, playwriting, design, and technical theater. Students may also have the experience of auditioning for colleges.
Over the three days there are two “mainstage” performances. These performances are selected from a list of productions that are adjudicated all over the state of Colorado. Every year, Colorado Thespians chooses two schools to have their high school performance presented on the Bellco Theatre’s main stage. The Main Stage Committee is looking for compelling shows that are committed to advancing the theater industry. These shows are performed for the 5,000+ people attending the conference.
The Colorado Thespian Society is dedicated to furthering theater education, and their vision statement reflects this:
“The vision for the Colorado Thespian Society is to use its collaborative talents and financial resources to promote, strengthen, and advocate for theatre arts education in all Colorado secondary schools. We believe the outcome of our efforts will be the cultivation of educational communities that share our belief that theatre is an essential component in our schools and in our society. We believe in the value of teaching human culture, history, diversity, responsibility, and integrity. — Revised January 2012”
So how does Holy Family *play* into all this? Well every year we take a bunch of performers competing in a wide range of events. From acting to musical theater, we bring a talented mix of student performers. Alongside these individual events, we bring a student directed one act. This year the one act was directed by Ethan Ward, Bremma Priola, and yours truly. The three of us spent countless hours blocking, tweaking, and running around like our head were cut off. Our one act was called Dark Road, written by Laura Lundgren Smith. It describes the life of Greta, A Nazi guard, and how evil takes her soul. The story takes us from when she first gets the job to when she is hung for her crimes. This story was one that took so much effort from cast and crew, and everyone did a wonderful job. While no one placed top three for any of the events, every single one of the Holy Family thespians should be proud of the performances they put out there.
