Officers of Marquette Theatre Company (MTC) traveled to Jefferson City this weekend for the Missouri State Thespian Leadership Conference, where they earned acceptance into the Missouri Honors Troupe.
Junior Riley Gregory, secretary of MTC, went to the conference and participated in different clinics to improve her leadership skills.
“The clinic was called ‘Jive, Groove, Girlboss’ and it was basically about being a girl in a leadership position,” Gregory said. “I learned about bringing women around you up and empowering them, and that was really cool.”
Gregory and junior Drew Mathers, vice president of MTC, presented their fundraisers and achievements at the conference in hopes of
“It gives us a sense of accomplishment, and it makes us feel more confident going into this year,” Gregory said.
Although any troupe can join the International Thespian Society (ITS), applying for Honors is the highest status they can receive.
“Randomly selected theater teachers from around Missouri gauged our accomplishments through our presentation and we ended up passing,” Mathers said.
“We were excited to attend this year because MTC hasn’t been since 2015,” Mathers said. “It was everyone’s first time going.”
Rebecca Blindauer, theater director, went to the conference during her very first year of teaching in 2015 but hasn’t been back since this year.
“I was so glad to go this year,” Blindauer said. “There was a lot of excitement amongst our officers to share what they learned with the group.”
In preparation for the State Thespian Conference, MTC also decided to submit the “Glass Menagerie,” the current play which will be performed in late October, for review. Two to three adjudicators will be sent to MHS to watch the production, and if they decide it’s something they want the state to see, the play will be performed in Kansas City during the International Thespian Society Conference in January.
“We’re putting ourselves out there so we can receive as many opportunities as possible,” Blindauer said. “To perform in Kansas City would be a huge honor.”
