Iowa State Thespian Officers
The members of the Iowa Thespian Student Board represent all Thespians in the State of Iowa as the student leaders of the Iowa Thespian Chapter Board. The State Thespian Officers are selected at the Iowa Thespian Festival, and members serve from November to November. Activities include:
- Attending monthly Iowa Thespian Chapter Board meetings
- Attending the International Thespian Festival and participating in leadership workshops
- Conducting leadership workshops at the State Festival
- Organizing and implementing ideas for the Iowa State Thespian Festival
- Communicating with other students through various outlets, including social media
- Promoting the work of the International Thespian Society and Iowa Thespians
If you are interested in applying to be a
State Thespian Officer Candidate, click here for details.
Meet the 2022 State Thespian Officers:
Lydia Benesh - STO Chair
Troupe #1470
Lydia Benesh is so excited to return for a second year on the STO board, and is ecstatic to serve as this year's chair! Lydia is a student at Mount Vernon High School and a member of troupe #1470. She performed in her first show at five years old and has been in love with theatre ever since! She is so honored to be able to continue her theatre journey on the STO board, and wants all thespians to know that they can feel free to reach out to her anytime!
Olivia Mick - Membership
Troupe # 4274
Olivia Mick is so excited to be returning for a second year as the 2022 Iowa Membership STO! Olivia is a Senior at Grinnell High School and is a proud member of Troupe #4274. She has been involved with theater since she was in third grade. Some of her favorite roles include Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Ida (Honk! The Musical) and Marianne Dashwood (Sense and Sensibility). When she is not on stage (or behind the scenes doing tech), Olivia participates in Concert Choir, Variety Show Choir, Concert Band, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Individual and Large Group Speech, Senior Showcase, and volunteers at her middle school's Drama Club. In her free time, Olivia loves to sing, play her musical instruments, and spend time with her friends. She is extremely thankful for all of the friendships, opportunities, and knowledge that theatre has given her. She is also extremely thankful for her friends, family, and school troupe for being so supportive of her theatre and leadership endeavors. Olivia is so excited to have the opportunity to represent and advocate for Iowa Thespians and the Theater Community. She hopes to inspire Thespians to continue to participate and try the many different elements in theater. She is greatly excited to see what the 2022 State Thespian Officer Board has in store!
Arissa Khan - Advocacy
Troupe #856
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Arissa Khan (she/her/hers) is a junior at Pleasant Valley High School, Troupe 856. Her theatre journey began her freshman year with "Carrie: The Musical," where she served on set and shift crew. Since then, she has been set and shift head, acted on stage, and run lights at her school. She has also been involved with her Troupe's improv program for one year, and is on varsity team Kakistocracy! Additionally, she has been a member of the PV Drama Officer Board for two years. She is currently serving as the Historian and Alumni Coordinator. Outside of theatre, Khan sings in her school's choir, and is a member of the High School Democrats of America Muslim and Women's Caucuses. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, painting, and hanging out with her three younger siblings and cat. She is so excited to serve as this year's Advocacy Officer, and hopes that you have a wonderful day!
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Bailey Garrett-Cornelison - Secretary
Troupe #5150
Bailey is a Junior at Lewis Central High School and is thrilled to serve as STO Secretary this year! She is her troupe #5150’s tech president, and has been involved in tech since her freshman year of high school. Some of the productions she has been involved in are Hairspray, The Little Mermaid Junior, and Clue: On Stage. Bailey generally prefers doing tech (specifically stage managing!) to being on stage, but she has performed in Antigone Now, as well as being in show choir and choir at school. Outside of school, Bailey enjoys hanging out with her friends and family, as well as reading and watching bad Netflix movies with her sister. Bailey is also involved in Speech and loves to participate in theatre whenever she can! She would like to thank her friends, family, and troupe director for giving her so many opportunities in her theatre career. She is very excited to be a part of the board this year and is honored to be able to meet so many wonderful, talented people.
If you want to include my social media:
Snapchat: Bailey_g1122
Instagram: Bailey_g365
If you want to include my social media:
Snapchat: Bailey_g1122
Instagram: Bailey_g365
Libby Albright - Communications
Troupe #1038
Libby Albright is from South Tama's Troupe #1038 and is absolutely thrilled to be joining the STO board as the 2022 Communications State Thespian Officer! Libby has been actively involved in theatre since her freshman year, but her love of theatre—especially musicals—began much, much earlier. Libby's favorite roles have been Poppy in Noises Off!, La Poncia in The House of Bernarda Alba, Cinderella's Understudy in Roger and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Linda in New Beat on an Old Drum, Fanny Winters (and Co-Lead Writer) in Nights on Harding Street: A Variety Show, and most importantly, The Baker's Wife in Into the Woods which she had the pleasure of performing in at the 2021 Iowa Thespian Festival! Besides theatre, Libby participates in student council, marching/jazz/pep/concert band, choir, prom committee, National Honor Society, track, Iowa Youth Congress, and speech. She also serves as the Vice President-elect of the Iowa Association of Student Councils. Libby enjoys music, running, bullet journalling, and graphic design! Libby knows how important building a community within an organization is and she intends to use her responsibilities as the Communications STO to reach as many people as possible and unify all of the thespian troupes around the state. Theatre is all about making memories and Libby can't wait to see what 2022 has in store for Iowa Thespians and the STO Board!
STO Email: iastocommunications@gmail.com
Instagram: @libbyalbright
Snapchat: @pb4elibby
STO Email: iastocommunications@gmail.com
Instagram: @libbyalbright
Snapchat: @pb4elibby
Ally Nolan - Junior Thespians
Troupe # 228
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Ally Nolan is the Junior thespians state thespian officer for the 2022-2023 year. She goes by She/Her pronouns. She is a part of troupe 228 at Oskaloosa High school! She is 16 years old and a junior in high school. Ally loves theatre but is also very involved in Student Council, National Honor Society, NHSSA, band, orchestra, jazz band, choir, madrigal, storybook, and solo and large group speech. Her favorite theatre memory has been messing around with all of my friends while we get prepared for show and dancing with all of my friends before a show! She also loves to get to meet all the new theatre students every year and make life long friendships! Ally is really looking forward to advancing the junior thespian society, and sharing her passion of theatre with aspiring thespians. Ally’s theatre journey began in her first show The Wizard of Oz. She loved the community and getting to play different roles. She has stuck with theatre for her whole life and was most recently Maria in The Sound of Music. Maria has been by far one of her favorite roles to play. In the future Ally wants to attend ST. Olaf university for her undergraduate degree, and then go to NYU for her graduate degree majoring in musical theatre and general education. She one day wants to be on Broadway playing Fanny Brice in the musical Funny Girl. If acting doesn’t work out then she wants to be a choir teacher with a show choir. Ally wants to teach kids a love and appreciation for music! Ally can not wait to meet all the thespians across Iowa!
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