Students from 2 Wisconsin high schools headed to International Thespian Festival

 

WAUWATOSA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A group of students from two Wisconsin schools are headed to the International Thespian Festival later this month.

"I think when people think of Wisconsin, you obviously don't think of...high school theater but I think it just really shows all the great talent that we have here and the drive that all of these students have is just awesome," said Faye Muma, Wauwatosa West Senior who plays Elsa in the school's production of Frozen.

The cast is preparing for encore performances of the show, before they bring it to the 2024 International Thespian Festival in Indiana, June 23-28.

Adam Steffan is the theater director at Wauwatosa West. "It's hard to put into words what this experience is. We've been recognized by the Educational Theater Association as a program that has excelled with our production of Frozen. Our students, our parents, our whole community has really wrapped their arms around this production," said Steffan.

The encore shows begin June 19 and will help raise funds to get the cast to the festival.

Ceili Callahan, Tosa West Junior plays Princess Anna. "I'm so excited. It's such a cool opportunity," she said.

It's a chance for the cast to perform in front of a crowd of 3,000.  "I've always dreamed of being somewhere big on stage. I've always loved the idea of being in front of a wide audience and hearing about how many people are going to be there is such a great thing to think about," said Brett Burgoyne who plays Olaf in the production.

Kenosha Bradford is also headed to the festival, bringing its production of "Between the Lines" to ITF. This is the 15th appearance the school is making at the festival and this year is bittersweet for long-time teacher and director, Holly Stanfield who is retiring this year.

"I've been doing this for a very long time," she said.

Stanfield is leaving behind a strong legacy and says she's excited to see where the theater department goes from here.

"Theater is the art of communication. I tell my students, to be a great theater artist, you need to be seen, you need to be heard and you need to have courage," said Stanfield.

The community can catch Kenosha Bradford's performances at the school before they head to Indiana. Between the Lines will run at the high school June 20-21 at 7:30.