Bouncing through the streets of Downtown St. Louis, a bus passed the Stifel Theatre and came to a halt in front of the Union Station Hotel. Sixteen high school students and their two sponsors stumbled out into the snow, hauling their luggage through the crowded lobby filled with students from schools around Missouri. Nearly all of the 567 rooms in the hotel were filled with students attending the biggest theater conference in Missouri – the Missouri Thespian 2025 Conference.
Every year, the KH Players sponsor Pioneers involved in the theater program for the trip. From Jan. 9 to 11, students get the opportunity to see three shows, all put on by high school students from Missouri. This year’s shows were “Sweet Charity,” produced by MO All-State, “Hadestown: Teen Edition,” produced by Central High School (Springfield) and “Trap,” produced by Liberty (Wentzville). Stevie Schukar, senior, was among the KHS students who went on the trip.
“My favorite experience was the final show [that we saw,] which was called ‘Trap,’” Schukar said. “I thought that [it] was a really interesting concept for a show. I thought the documentary style was really interesting. I was scared, which was the goal.”
“Trap,” a play by Stephan Gregg, is a mystery sci-fi psychological thriller about a town in California whose residents all fall unconscious at a school play. All three of the MainStage shows at conference had a full circle ending, “Hadestown: Teen Edition” included.
“My favorite show was definitely Hadestown,” Sloane Stevens, junior, said. “I thought all the actors were very skilled performers. They had so much emotion in their singing. The aesthetic of the show was [also] very pleasing.”
“Hadestown,” Tony Award Winner, recently released licensing for high schools to produce the show in “Hadestown: Teen Edition.” The musical retells the Greek mythological tragedy of Orpheus and Persephone.
“‘Hadestown’ is my favorite musical,” Ada Stiber, senior, said. “I saw it at The Fox a year or two ago, and I cried. My expectations going into [‘Hadestown: Teen Edition’] were very low, just because it’s a high school production, but I was very impressed.”
While at the conference, students were able to take various workshops in order to build their skills. Dance, acting and stage fighting workshops were all options for students to participate in.
“The best lesson was from one of the acting classes,” Stevens said. “[It was] about auditioning. It doesn’t always have to be stressful, everyone there wants to help you [succeed.] You can just relax and enjoy the moment.”
Stevens said she also enjoyed a dance workshop called ‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood,’ taught by Anna Covera, an Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts at Illinois Wesleyan University. Schukar said that this year, he felt like there were more options for different types of workshops, which he thinks made him more involved. He said his favorite one was where he learned to write a commercial.
“There was a workshop [about] conventional lighting versus LED lighting,” Stiber said. “It went through different kinds of lights and different colorations. [They talked about] developing LED lights and how it’s continuing to develop, and that was very cool.”
While Stevens said she enjoyed the workshops and shows, she said her favorite memories were ones where the entire KH Players group was together. The students and their sponsors, Kelly Schnider and Gregory Booth, ate most meals together. They were also able to take trips to nearby restaurants, like The Soda Fountain and The Pitch.
“My favorite moments were the times we all sat in a circle as a group,” Stevens said. “[We] talked about really anything, [like] the shows we just saw or what’s going on in our lives. I thought it was a great bonding experience and I got to know [everyone] better.”