Madeleine Robinson Chosen as State Thespian Officer for Northwest Ohio
Central Catholic High School sophomore Madeleine Robinson has been selected as the State Thespian Officer (STO) for the Northwest Ohio area. She will work with five other students - one from each region - to plan next year’s Ohio State Thespian Conference, and she will represent every troupe in the Northwest Ohio area.
Every year there is an application and interview process that takes place at the state level to elect one STO for each region. These six students work together throughout the year to raise awareness of the organization, plan activities, and plan the conference alongside the Ohio Educational Theatre Association (EdTA) board members.
Over a thousand high school students attend the State Thespian Conference each year to learn from guest artists in the areas of technical theatre and acting, to watch performances from some of the best theatre troupes in the state, and to meet new friends from other schools. Members of the Central Catholic Drama Club have attended the conference for the past three years.
“I applied for the position of STO with the encouragement of our Drama Club director, Mrs. Mills, and because I have such a love for theatre and the Thespian Conference,” Madeleine said. “Being able to represent an entire region of theatre kids is so exciting and such an honor. I am looking forward to experiencing the process of how the conference is organized and getting to work with the other fantastic STOs for Ohio. I am so thrilled to accept this position, and I want to give one last big thanks to Mrs. Mills and to my dad for motivating me to do this. Without their constant support and guidance, I would not have half the opportunities I do.”
“It is an honor to have a member of our troupe at Central Catholic serve in this capacity, and I have absolutely no doubt that Madeleine will represent our region and our troupe well!” said Drama Club Director Angela Mills. “Madeleine will represent all troupes in 16 counties.”
Mrs. Mills established Central Catholic's membership in the International Thespian Society (ITS) and Educational Theatre Association (EdTA) when she reintroduced the Drama Club in 2022. The ITS is an honorary organization that has inducted more than 2.2 million theatre students since its founding in 1929, and the Ohio Chapter of the EdTA is a vibrant organization that promotes and strengthens theatre education in Ohio schools. The organization runs an annual theatre competition called the Thespys, provides scholarships for students going into the theatre arts in college, and organizes the annual State Thespian Conference for all theatre students in Ohio. Since Central Catholic is a member of the organization, we track student hours of good work in theatre, induct new members into our troupe, and attend the conference each year. We currently have 16 students inducted in our troupe.
“I was inducted as a member of the International Thespian Society, attended the State Thespian Conference every year, and attended the International Thespian Conference when I was in high school,” said Mrs. Mills. “As soon as we brought back the Drama Club at CCHS, I knew that membership in these organizations would serve as an inspiration to our students to go beyond what we can offer within the walls of our school. After attending the annual conference, our students leave dreaming bigger than they did before they went, and Maddy is a perfect example of a student who has been so inspired by what the organization has to offer that she wants to give back to it!
“Many Central Catholic students have expressed interest in auditioning for the annual All Ohio Show at the Thespian Conference and to compete in the Thespy competition in November. It is a dream come true for me to have a student participate at the state level, and I can't wait to see what our Drama Club members accomplish in the years to come.”
