CHS Thespian Club; get to know them here!

CANTON — The old saying, ‘the show must go on,’ is what propelled the Canton High Thespian Club to overcome each obstacle they faced while multiple restrictions were in place due to COVID-19.

Imagine performing a play virtually or being allowed to return to the stage, but, wearing a mask was required, which is what they did for both their Fall and Spring productions, (Rosie the Riveter, by Trey Carlson and Emma: A Pop Musical by Eric Price), this school year.

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Recently, a few members of the CHS Thespian Club performed scenes from both productions for the Ledger.

Many may not realize the commitment and number of hours, (roughly 98), involved with just rehearsing. That doesn’t include learning lines, practicing with fellow thespians outside of scheduled rehearsal and finally, performing for an audience.

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Teacher/director/co-sound and lighting director, Amanda Vandermeer, said only a portion of Club members were able to be present on a recent Thursday due to other obligations, “Nine of the students (here) are members of our troupe of the International Thespian Society, the honor society for students of theatre. This year we ended with a total of 12 members.”

Additionally, four out of five officers were on hand including: Hannah Steck, President; Ian Walker, Vice President; Taylor Tinsman, Secretary (unable to be present), Roxann Richardson, (Treasurer) and Dalanie Cain (Freshman Representative).

CHS chorus and Ingersoll Middle School music teacher, Tony Militello, or Mr. M. as he is fondly referred to by students, is a big asset and resource to the program, “He and I are co-sound and lighting directors for the high school, so, while I’m directing the shows, he does a lot of the work for sound and lighting, collaborating with me to create the best use of our tech as we can. For the musical, he also designs and leads the building of our set as well as serves as our music director, teaching the vocals to performers. He has also been conducting the orchestra for the shows for the last few years. At this time, he is the only other adult who does anything linked to the Thespian Club, so I’m beyond grateful for him. He is a multi-talented human who I am very lucky to have on my team,” said Vandermeer.

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Club members said they were happy to be able to get back on stage after a majority of the strictest pandemic restrictions were lifted.

“It was definitely a change from being online, but it was the best change we could have had, honestly,” shared Ian Walker, class of 2023.

Echoing those sentiments was Roxann Richardson, “I didn’t have a chance to do any productions my freshman year, I’m a junior now and it really creates a sense of community. I went into it knowing a fair amount of people in the play and musical, but it goes from you are eating with these people, you are crying with these people to you are with these people all the time. I know that if I have a bad day at school and I have play rehearsal after school, I have at least one person that’s going to be there for me whether it’s Amanda, Mr. M., or any variety of the actors. I think that’s something that really creates the sense of community and the sense of loyalty we all have for each other no matter what.”

“I’m a senior, so I was in productions before and after the pandemic. Coming back from it, it makes you appreciate everything more. The things you used to complain about, you’re so grateful for now. The connections became more instant. I was scared to talk to people, but now I’m like, ‘I love you’ and I’m so grateful,” said Mya Matusik.

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“I’m pursuing acting in college so this isn’t my last production. My first play ever was my sophomore year and I had never acted before in my life. I had no experience, no knowledge. I knew I wanted to do theatre. I knew it was an interest I had, but I never had the courage to go out and do it. I came in here and I got a part I did not expect and I was surrounded by people I did not know. I think Kelsey (Watson) was the only person I knew at that point. I immediately fell in love with everyone. There was just an energy about being on stage and performing for the first time. It was nothing I’ve ever experienced in my life. Nothing compares to the feeling of being on stage. I was in both of our virtual shows which was amazing in a lot of ways because I was happy to be doing theatre even if it wasn’t what we considered theatre. But it was also so heartbreaking because it felt like I had just found my place in the world and then it was immediately taken from me. It was so hard and also hard to see those seniors leave because they were the ones who had welcomed me with open arms the year before. They taught me a lot of things. I looked up to them a lot so seeing them leave without their final goodbye’s to the stage broke my heart. It made me want to come back here and work harder than I’ve ever worked at anything in my entire life. I feel like I did that. All I want is to be an inspiration to this program, to help this program flourish, to help these people flourish, to be by everyone’s side whether it’s in the theatre or outside the theatre. I want everyone else to feel the same love and the family I was welcomed into my sophomore year. Now that I’m leaving and going to a new program I’m so proud of the mark that all of these seniors have left on this program. I’m proud of the people who are stepping up and are going to be the leaders next year. I hope they carry on the legacy of making this club a family and home. That’s what it is and that’s what it should always be. Also, of course to Amanda and Mr. M., who spend hours, all of their free time to make all of this possible because we would be nowhere if we didn’t have supportive adults in our lives,” said senior Hannah Steck who will be attending Illinois Wesleyan University.

Awards presented to members of the Thespian Club this school year include:

Aaron Olson, Best Actor, class of 2022; Hannah Steck, Best Thespian, class of 2022 and Kelsey Watson, Best Actress, class of 2022.

The Thespian Club is involved in several other activities outside the stage.

Among them is the Spook Trail which has been sidelined the past few years due to COVID, but Vandermeer said they are hopeful to bring it back this fall.

This article originally appeared on Canton Daily Ledger: CHS Thespian Club triumphs over pandemic to perform