NYSTEA

By Gigi Blumberg

The New York State Theatre Education Association, also known as NYSTEA (nice-tea), hosts a yearly conference for theatre students all over New York State. This conference serves as an educational and super fun way to spread theatre arts.

The conference holds over 100 workshops in categories such as dancing, acting, singing, costume design, stage makeup, and lights and sound tech. Each category includes different level workshops for those just starting out to those with years of experience and training.

This year, on January 5th, 6th, and 7th, over 800 students gathered for the 28th annual NYSTEA Student Conference in the Catskills mountains at the Villa Roma Resort for a weekend of fun! The opening ceremony on Friday night began the events with guest performer Adam Kantor and announcements from the President and Vice President. The first workshop was after the opening ceremonies followed by a chance to get signatures from our Broadway star guest. 

Between ceremonies and workshops was designated activity time. During this free time students were free to participate in activities such as karaoke, snow tubing, bowling, swimming, pickleball and cornhole in the gym, bounce houses, bonfires, rock climbing, and more. 

Saturday morning everyone hurried to their second workshop after breakfast, and the third workshop followed promptly afterward. During our free time after the two workshops, the entire Ken-West clan met up for karaoke in the lounge where we sang “Seasons of Love” from Rent, and Abby Holmes sang “World Burn” from Mean Girls the Musical. While everyone enjoyed the group rendition of “Seasons of Love,” the real show stopper was Abby’s solo following her lead as Regina George in Mean Girls the Musical, which was performed by Ken-Ton Stage this past summer.

In the evening everyone headed to their fourth workshop which would be the last of the day. Once that workshop ended, it was time to hurry back to our hotel rooms and get ready for a nice sit-down dinner, a showcase of theatrical talents, and a dance similar to a homecoming affair. 

This year’s showcase included talented singers performing solo songs they had prepared for a workshop, monologue performances from a prepared monologue workshop, and group performances of scenes written, performed, directed, and produced by students. After an entertaining showcase was dinner, and after dinner Kenmore West students took pictures in the beautiful snow. Then were all able to hit the dance floor. It was a wonderful night with a great DJ and lots of activities still running for those uninterested in the dance floor; there was always something for everyone.

Sunday morning began with breakfast immediately followed by our fifth and last workshop. Before we left was the final closing ceremony where we watched a slideshow from the entire weekend, thanked everyone who made the event possible, and celebrated the third-year students who received appreciation for their dedication to NYSTEA.

On Saturday afternoon many schools had made the executive decision to leave early due to a snowstorm meant to hit overnight. Luckily Kenmore West and the rest of the Western New York schools that shared our bus decided to stay and wait out the storm if necessary. When we left the weather was good enough to travel. 

On the bus ride home energy was high and everyone discussed what an amazing time we had. Smiles and laughter all weekend left behind memories to last a lifetime. Big thanks to our chaperones, Bri Puma and Miss Kaderabeck. And thank you to our sponsor, Diana Gruninger, who brought us and made this magical weekend possible.