NC Standing Ovation traveled two hours to visit Columbus State University for the annual Georgia Thespian Conference on February 7, 8, and 9. The NC students packed into the coach bus along with their partnering troupe from Kell High School at 7:00 a.m. to prepare for their 7:30 a.m. departure.

“Thescon was absolutely amazing. Being surrounded by people who love theatre as much as you do allows you to be 100 percent yourself, and it’s just an amazing experience,” junior Evyna Milligan said.

Once the students arrived on campus, Director Candice Corcoran handed everyone their lanyards and Thescon starterpacks consisting of a map, a t-shirt, and an itinerary of what their weekend would look like. After each student received their welcome kit, they proceeded to attach their creatively crafted hugpins to the edge of the pocket.

Hugpins, a tradition at Thescon, creates a friendly trading method to meet people and make new friends. Made out of clothespins and decorated with glitter and pipe cleaners to express the original holder’s creativity, fellow thespians give hugs in exchange for a pin.

The conference started with an opening number put on by an All-Star thespian cast of students from all over Georgia who auditioned at Baldwin high school in November 2018. These students rehearsed for three months to perfect the incredibly dance-heavy performance and land their steps perfectly in front of the crowd of thespians.

After the opening number, students ran off to begin their first workshop of the conference. From 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. the student’s schedules swapped between taking intense dance classes to watching flawless musicals from other schools.

Senior Bri Leshe Gaston and junior Evyna Milligan both went to a Beyoncé dance workshop for their first class. The students learned how to dance like “Queen B” during her performance of “Crazy In Love” at Coachella 2018.

“I really enjoyed thescon. My favorite part was taking a Beyoncé dance choreography class. The crazy part was that my director showed me up in the Beyoncé class, so that was interesting,” Gaston said.

Before Thescon began, students could sign up to audition for an Individual Event (IE). Auditioning for an IE meant auditioning to perform in the closing number at Thescon in front of thousands of other theatre students.

From NC’s troupe, senior Isabella Keaton auditioned with the song “Don’t Wanna Be Here” from the musical Ordinary Days and senior Hope Kutsche auditioned with the song “Everything I Know” from the musical In the Heights. Although neither student participated in the closing showcase, Keaton received a superior score of 20/24, the highest in the troupe.

Thescon filled all the thespians with joy and memories to last a lifetime. After learning new things in the dancing, acting, and singing classes, students met choreographers and broadways stars from New York City and established real connections to the professional scene. The fun-filled weekend will live on in everyone’s hearts as they count down the days until next year.

“It was my first and last time going, and I met so many amazing people. I even got to meet Jodi Benson with my friend Evyna. I’m so happy I got to spend this weekend with my close friends and make memories,” Gaston said.