The annual Thespian State Conference was held in January on the 4th, 5th, and 6th at the Marriott and Music Hall in Kansas City, Missouri. Students competed in a variety of events ranging from on stage talents to backstage skills. There was also a scholarship audition day where senior Sam Ragone received16 callbacks from different colleges after his initial performance. 

“I got the opportunity to perform at the Thespian conference, to audition for the scholarship award,” senior Ragone said. “A whole bunch of colleges sit in, about 25 colleges, and 50 representatives sit down in an audience and I got to audition in front of all of them. When I had my song and monologue, it was fun to be on stage.” 

After the audition at the end of the day, the colleges send out a list of who they want to be called back for the day after, considered as a breakfast audition for the students who applied. Colleges have tables set up, talk to them and introduce yourself and you will learn more about their program and they get to know you more for auditions down the road. 

“It’s like when you apply for college but for musical theater, when auditioning for musical theater you want to have a contrasting monologue and a contrasting solo song. A funny monologue and a super sad ballad of a song,” Ragone said.

Ragone is auditioning for Nebraska Lincoln University, whom he met at a table and received a call back the next day. 

“I find it funny. I looked at the list from callbacks and they all spelled my name wrong… Sam Rgone,” he said.

The International Thespian Society is an honor society for high school and middle school theater students. It is a division of the Educational Theatre Association. Thespian troupes serve students in grades 9–12; Junior Thespian troupes serve students in grades 6-8.