Jamie Lammers, Nederland. During the week of June 24-30, 2019, select members of Nederland Middle-Senior High School’s theater troop 2718 had the honor of attending the International Thespian Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska. Sasha Godsil, Jakob Duncan, James Lammers, Hadley Zotti and Meagan Figgins had been anticipating this trip for over half a year after their monologues, duet scenes, and solo musical performances received a “Superior” rating at the 2018 Colorado State Thespian Conference last December. They started practicing their pieces again in preparation for the festival and for their performances there, they all received overall Excellent and Superior scores.

However, their individual events (or IEs) weren’t the only reason they were excited to attend the festival. They were excited to attend a week-long festival of theater and film-themed workshops and see productions like Bring it On, Be More Chill, Noises Off, Bright Star and Xanadu from high schools across the country. They were excited to meet their peers and watch them perform their own IEs. They were excited to be in an area surrounded by people who loved the art of theater just as much as they did and feel at home amongst their fellow thespians.

Not only were each of the students able to perform their IEs, but everyone at the festival was also each given incredible opportunities and experiences. Jake and Sasha got to say goodbye to their beloved theater troop one last time after graduation and have fun performing their IEs, with Sasha earning an overall Superior average and metal for hers. Hadley and Meagan had the honor of meeting Lindsey Price, the writer of the play their duo scene was taken from, when she intentionally sought them out to see their performance of the scene. Jamie was cast in a staged reading of a never-before-performed musical called “Dreamland,” written by Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen, and got the chance to work with student actors from across the country and Broadway-level actors, writers, and producers. Last but not least, troop leader Elizabeth Evans and chaperone Ki Goodman got to see their students perform on a national level, which Evans says was the highlight of her trip to the festival.

Seeing others perform, learning new dances, and meeting new people were some of the highlights of this festival. Being able to travel across the country and see over 4,500 other students with the same passions as they had was an incredible, fun experience and a week that none of them shall soon forget.

Originally published in the July 11, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear. You can buy a low resolution, downloadable pdf of this paper at https://themtnear.com/product/2019-07-11/