One of the fastest growing clubs at Camas High School (CHS) is the drama club, also known as the Thespians club. It has nearly doubled in size between last year and this year, with a much larger freshman and sophomore presence than was seen in the past.
The club is led by president Daria Kukartseva, a junior, alongside vice president Sophie Jacobs, a senior, and four committee heads.
Throughout the year, these leaders get together and organize a wide variety of events for the members and leaders alike, including promoting performances, going on non-school sponsored field trips, and hosting a number of different fundraisers to help support the CHS theatre department.
For many members, club membership is coupled with taking part in a CHS drama class or show. No matter who you are, forming a happy community is one of the top priorities for Kukartseva.
“Coming into thespians was so welcoming and so surprising that it didn’t matter that I didn’t know anyone, people would talk to me anyway and I made so many friends so fast,” Kukartseva said. “I want to perpetuate that comfort, that everyone’s welcome, no matter what.”
The Thespians club at CHS is closely related to the International Thespian Society (ITS), but not all members are required to join the organization in order to be in the club, though it is heavily encouraged.
“I’m a member of the International Thespian Society, which means I am only allowed to miss two meetings per year,” Jacobs said. “It’s a massive attendance requirement that many members of the club don’t necessarily have.”
When it comes time for a CHS performance, such as the upcoming Romeo and Juliet and further anticipated Urinetown, the thespian club gears up to support and promote the shows by hanging
posters, creating reels, and inviting friends and family to watch the performances.
“All those [social media] posts, I’ve either made them or I’ve OK’d them,” Thespians club social media manager Mose Pearlman said. “I’d like to get ticket sales up. They’re already good, but I’d like to start selling out shows again, because the people here are talented and deserve to be shown to the world.”
Reels and posts can be seen on the Camas Theatre department Instagram and Tiktok pages.
The upcoming year offers further opportunities for connection between actors. The connection between members goes beyond something the stage can quantify.
Josie Kotter, a freshman in the Thespians club, said that they had been anticipating being able to join the Thespians club at CHS for quite some time since getting into acting several years ago.
“I’m looking forward to getting the opportunity to connect with my fellow theatre people,” Kotter said. “I love that everybody is super ready to engage. Everybody in there is super passionate about theatre and they’re ready to do exactly what it takes to achieve our goals, and we’re always willing to help each other out.”
As Kukartseva puts it, Thespians club is a place for everyone to gather and share the love of acting.
“Everyone is welcome here,” Kukartseva said.
