The thespians of Windsor High School recently went on a trip to Kansas City for a thespian Festival.

Teachers Whitney Crabtree and Michelle Dalaviras took 17 students to the convention January 4-7. 

They arrived via Amtrak and stayed in the downtown Kansas City area.

The convention is a place for these students to make connections and expand on their skills.

“It’s a massive convention where a bunch of thespian troupes from schools all across Missouri and it keeps you busy all day with opportunities to learn, have fun, and even show off your talent to colleges that show up to give away scholarships,” senior Ethan Meece said.

This conference is held every year in January.

And even with just a 4 day period they were able to do so much.

“Students were given the opportunity to attend classes and workshops surrounding all aspects of theater. They were also given an opportunity to audition for scholarships and compete against other thespians in events such as costume design, makeup, lighting, stage design, acting, and more,” Crabtree said.

It wasn’t just the Windsor students doing classes, though.

There were many schools, large and small, participating and they would put on plays for the other schools attending.

“We also attend mainstage performances of plays and musicals done by other schools around the state. This year we saw ‘Girls Like That’ and the musical ‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.’ In the past we have seen schools do ‘Legally Blonde,’ ‘Tarzan,’ and more popular shows. Schools of any size can bring their productions. The students perform in a professional theater for 3000 people,” Crabtree said. 

The convention is so big at this point that they often have professionals come.

“We have speakers that come from professional theater, often from Broadway,” Crabtree said. 

The kids that go to the convention love it and that is why the convention keeps coming back.

It is a great place for these kids to practice and learn more about what they love.

Crabtree said, “It is a wonderful opportunity to connect with other thespians and learn more about theater, plus it’s a lot of fun.”