A group of repertory theater members traveled to Wichita for the State Thespian Conference on Jan. 20-22.

They attended sessions led by professionals, covering topics like preparing a monologue and play writing.

“One of the classes called  ‘Actor as Storyteller,’ led by Bruce Miller from the University of Miami, was so brilliant,” junior Alex Petersen said. “It focused on objective — what your character wants. He taught us that a lot relies on objective. He basically pounded it into our heads.”

Thespian troupes from across the state attended this event.

“I met all different people from different schools,” Petersen said. “I also got to see people I knew that I hadn’t seen in awhile.”

The repertory members watched four performances presented by the schools who qualified for state.

“We were able to look at the people who made it to state and the way they performed,” Petersen said. “We could see what worked and didn’t work and what we need to improve upon.”

Junior Jake Miller said he learned many new acting techniques to apply to his performances.

“It was good to see the different ways people carried out the shows, with the different sets and such,” Miller said. “We got to see a lot of people who are really good.”