2 Culver students play backstage roles as Indiana earns spot at International Thespian Festival

Charlotte Hass '27 (left) and Kaily Jo Norris '26 backstage. (Photo by Shannon Master)

 

Hass, Norris members of troupe that will bring “Suffs” to international festival in June

 

Charlotte Hass ’27 and Kaily Jo Norris ’26 have backstage roles in “Suffs,” a musical about the women’s suffrage movement, put on by Indiana chapter of the International Thespian Festival, that was selected to perform on the main stage at this year’s international competition in Bloomington, Indiana, in June.

The Indiana troupe was selected from 40 groups competing for one of 12 high school berths.

“This is so exciting because this is the first time that Indiana has had an all-state production,” said Stacy Joyce, a visiting guest artist in artistic leadership at Culver and the troupe director.

The selection of Hass and Norris caps an ambitious year for Culver’s chapter of the International Thespian Society, which was reinstated last year. Hass was eager to apply when she first heard of the competition and persuaded Norris to apply with her. They each submitted their portfolios in August highlighting productions they had worked on at Culver and both were selected.

Hass was selected as the projection designer and as a scenic charge artist and Norris was selected as prop master and also helped with scene construction. They originally signed on just for the opportunity to get more stage experience.

“I never thought we would go to Internationals,” Norris said. “I didn't even know about Internationals when I signed up.”

Beginning in late September, Hass and Norris traveled to Avon, Indiana, west of Indianapolis, about once a month – twice in December -- to work with other high school students. A driver would pick them up from campus at 6 a.m. and they’d work until 8 p.m. or later before heading back to campus. They describe the process as exhilarating and exhausting.

“I really enjoyed getting to meet kids from all over the state who were involved in theater and see their artistic talents,” Hass said.  “It was also really fun to have the opportunity to take charge and have leadership over a huge part of the show. Since we were a really small crew, both me and KJ had large control over what we were working on, which was both terrifying and very educational.”

 

 

Norris embraced the nuts-and-bolts of props work.

“My job as prop master was to get a list of props and to think about how we would acquire them, make them and buy them,” she said. “I was making props in between rehearsals, sewing, painting and so much hot glue.”

Her favorite prop was an eerie effigy of President Woodrow Wilson made from a pool noodle and wooden sticks.

“He’s only used for about 60 seconds, but he steals the show for 60 seconds,” Norris said.

Hass was picking out different pieces of furniture, color schemes and making sure everything was painted correctly. She also helped construct a signature piece of the play: a 10-foot-tall papier-mache horse.

She helped build the saddle made of a wooden platform and pipes so someone could sit on it. She enjoyed the moment when the horse first goes on stage.

“The audience was exploding and cheering. And I was like, maybe they're clapping for the actors, but I think they're clapping for my horse,” she said.

Joyce hopes the experiences Hass and Norris have enjoyed will encourage future Culver students to get involved. Culver has 19 students who are members of International Thespian Honor Society.

Beyond the all-state production, several Culver students competed in the International Thespian Excellence Awards, also known as the “Thespys.” Ava Hillman ’27 earned an Excellent in solo acting,

 Corey Brennan, CGA '26, received an Excellent rating in MT Solo Performance and three student films—by Nwanma Udokwu ’26, Norris and Hillman -- also earned Excellent ratings.

Hass and Norris say they’re not disappointed the international festival is in nearby Bloomington, saying they’re just excited to be representing Culver and Indiana.

“It’s an amazing opportunity,” Norris said.