Carl Lefko gives keynote address at Virginia State Thespian Conference

Inspiring the hopes and dreams of future college thespians was the motivating factor Jan. 10 in Carl Lefko’s keynote remarks and participation at the Virginia State Thespian Conference at George Mason University.

Lefko, Radford University’s director of the School of Dance and Theatre and chair of the Department of Theatre and Cinema, titled his speech “USITT and You, Turning Dreams into Reality.”

As a United States Institute for Theatre Technology Fellow, Lefko was asked by the conference co-director Nancy Curtis to give the keynote. His topic regarded the benefits of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) for Virginia Thespians™ membership for teachers and students, as well as the importance of technical theatre training to the world of entertainment. Virginia Thespians™ is an educational theatre association affiliate of the International Thespian Society.

“The conference plays vital role for high school students in validating the importance of their involvement in theatre,” Lefko said. “For many it will be their first experience in competing as a thespian against other high schools, in an arena similar to the one we commonly see in athletics.”

The conference is also a valuable resource for RU student recruitment. High school thespians have an opportunity to learn about career opportunities in theatre and audition for a place in the department. Lefko said some of the strongest theatre students come from schools that participate in the conference. One year, as many as six new students from one school became theatre majors at RU.

The theatre department has a long-standing relationship with Virginia State Thespian Conference dating back to the 1980s. It has hosted between six and eight conferences at the university, and will host the 2016 conference. . Lefko coordinated all but two of these. Two recognition plaques are displayed in the Pridemore Playhouse lobby for previous years of conference support.

Lefko also presented a workshop on preparing students for a career in technical theatre, and participated in the college and university auditions.

To learn more about the Virginia State Thespian Conference, visit vathespian.org. For information about the RU Department of Theatre and Cinema, go to www.radford.edu/theatre.