Warren Con students perform at the Michigan Thespian Festival

LANSING — A large group of Warren Consolidated Schools Performing Arts students took their talents to Lansing earlier this month for the annual Michigan Thespian Festival.

The festival, created for high school students from across the state of Michigan, attracted 90 high schools this year. 

During the two-day event held Dec. 12-13 at the Lansing Center, the students attended workshops, saw multiple shows, competed in various theater events, and auditioned for university and college theatre programs. 

According to WCSPA Artistic Director Erik Hart, each school is identified with a number that relates to the order of their chartered troupe in the International Thespian Society.  WCSPA is Troupe 1,000.  In total, over 30 million dollars in scholarship offers were announced to seniors across the state, according to district officials.

The district seniors auditioned for multiple colleges and universities from Michigan, the Midwest, New York and California, and received 74 scholarship offers, totaling $2.7 million. Hart organizes the scholarship competition.

Warren Consolidated Schools senior Steven Marsack was awarded an honorary Thespian Scholarship, which is presented to the top 10 theatre students in Michigan. Senior Mary Jerjosa received the Tom Suda Spirit Scholarship, which is awarded to only one student that honors their loyalty and service to their school.

“The level of dedication of our seniors in combination with the sheer amount of work they have put in over their past four years here has truly paid off. They have excelled both in the classroom and behind the scenes,” Hart said. “The support they have given each other and their growth not only as artists, but as great people, is what I find the most inspiring though.  They are very fortunate to live in a school district that supports the arts, and they have truly taken advantage of that to get where they are today.” 

In addition, many district students received awards in the individual events competition known as The Thespys. WCSPA received 70 “superior,” 14 “excellent,” one “good,” and zero “poor” ratings in categories including acting, musical, dance, lighting, sound, costume design and construction, makeup, playwriting and stage management.  

“The Thespian Festival provides a strong sense of community you just can’t find anywhere else,” Warren Mott senior Deyanna Oglesby said in a prepared statement. “The energy is electric, and you can learn from mentors that can really help shape your life ahead.”

The Warren Consolidated School of Performing Arts is an award-winning program specializing in all aspects of theater at Sterling Heights High School. Classes involve daily, two-hour classes, set in a professional working environment. Students produce five shows a year in two different theatres. WCSPA classes are offered to students in grades nine through 12 enrolled in any of the district’s high schools and is a schools-of-choice option for students living in Macomb County. For information, go to wcspa.net.