June 27, 2007
High School Drama Club Students Earn Thespian Designation
SOMERS - The Somers High School
Drama Club, Troup #5116 of the
International Thespian Society, recently held
its annual induction ceremony to celebrate
the inclusion of 30 new members and to recognize
another 33 members on their
increased ranking within the organization.
Through hard work, sacrifice, and dedication,
these students have earned sufficient
points on a scale dictated by the ITS to have
the right to be called Thespians. It is a title of
honor, signifying a commitment to an art as
old as humanity.
The International Thespian Society,
founded in 1929, is the honorary theatre
organization for students in high school.
Operated by the Educational Theatre
Association, ITS offers everything from varied
performance venues to college audition
opportunities to formal awards and scholarships.
Since 1929, more than two million students
have been inducted. Students inducted
into this organization share the honor with
some pretty high-profile fellow-thespians:
Tom Hanks, Rene Zellweger, Faye Dunaway,
Marcus Lovett, Sally Struthers, Jaclyn Smith,
Tommy Sands, Dick Van Dyke, Tommy
Tune, Kristie Allie, John Travolta, John
Goodman, Jerry Van Dyke, Wayne Brady,
Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Jai Rodriguez, and
Paula Prentiss, to name just a few.
Newly inducted (minimum of 100 hours):
Paul Alexander, Megan Arnold, Serena
Bailey, Beth Bardsley, Alison Brewer, Jessica
Celeski, Jana Crisafi, Cody Daigle, Rebecca
Dube, Lauren Dumas, Leah Estanislau,
Denise Foerster, Amanda Fredette, Kyle
Gallaway, Alexander Hayowyk, Nicholas
Hoff, Kevin King, Joshua Marquardt,
Anthony Morello, Vencent Palazzolo, Joshua
Panto, Samuel Plotkin, Colin Roy, Nicole
Scibelli, Jillian Soucy, Morgan Soucy,
Elizabeth Tarbox, Andrew Welch, Richard
Welch and Stephanie Zdebski.
Thespian 1 Star (200 – 299 hours): Alicia
Bonin, Moriah Brockway, Matthew Duhrels,
Timothy O[‘Hearn, Tess Plotkin, Benjamin
Thompson, Andrew Woodruff, and Andrew
Yau.
Thespian 2 Star (300 – 399 hours): Kayla
Bliesener, Kalli Bonin, Brian Burnette, Molly
Driscoll, Colleen Grady, Erin Hull, Paul
Lietz, Laarni Palazzolo, and Mary
Thompson.
Thespian 3 Star (400 – 499): Brian
Coughlin, Lauren Houlihan, Colleen Toohey,
and Laura Traceski.
Thespian 4 Star (500 – 599): Samantha
Rush and Rachel Zdebski.
Honor Bar (600+ hours): Juliana Castro,
Kristopher Connell, Nicholas Pantuosco,
Louis Piscottano, and Rebecca Sawyer.
Best Thespian (700+ hours): Alison Hall,
Kevin Orszak, Victoria Sepe and Christine
Zdebski.
National Thespian (1200+ hours): Courtney Schiessl
In addition, the Drama Club awarded their
annual scholarship to Rachel Zdebski who
will be studying at Simmons College in the
fall.
Installation of Officers for 2007 – 2008
included Kalli Bonin (President), Louis
Piscottano (Vice President), Anne Kohler
(Secretary), Beth Bardsley (Treasurer) and
Paul Lietz (Fundraising).
Mrs. Kathy Welch is the SHS Drama Club
Advisor and Troup Sponsor in the
International Thespian Society.
