Written by: Ainsley Hall and published in The Martinsburg Journal on March 14, 2025, link to the article HERE.
HEDGESVILLE — High schools throughout the area are celebrating Theatre in Our Schools (TIOS) Month throughout March, recognizing the importance of school theater programs and how they create opportunities for students to learn more about leadership and working with others.
Students from Martinsburg High School and Spring Mills High School recently visited Hedgesville High School to talk about TIOS and what it means to them.
The group of students included Kianna Rogers and Leila Allen from Hedgesville; Taylor VanCamp and Preston Russell from Martinsburg; and Julia Stedman and Adrianna Hykes from Spring Mills. The group was organized by Rogers, who serves as the social media manager for the Hedgesville High School Theater Department.
After meeting with her theater teacher Kelli Cooper and the other drama officers, the students decided they wanted to do something special to recognize TIOS. They came up with the idea of getting representatives from other high schools in the area to talk about what theater means to them.
“It’s really exciting because as far as I know, we’ve never done this before. We get together for competitions and stuff like that, but there is a lot of tension and nerves going on because we’re all focused on our performances,” Rogers said.
“This is a chance to get together outside of competition because of something we’re all passionate about,” Rogers added.
For these students, TIOS is important, because theater gives them a safe space to express themselves. Theater doesn’t get as much recognition as sports and some other programs, so having a month dedicated to showing others why it’s important highlights the students’ hard work.
For some young people, theater gives them a reason to go to school. It gives them the chance to de-stress and have fun with their friends.
“It’s a place to get away from the stress and not be judged for being myself,” Allen said. “I can do that in theater. Everyone is so supportive.”
“I’ve been doing theater since third grade,” Hykes added. “My dad did theater and got me into it, too. It gives me a way to express myself that’s different from just talking to people normally.”
Stedman said that theater also gives them the chance to step outside themselves and be someone else. As a collaborative art form, it’s designed to create a close-knit community where people can learn more about others.
Both VanCamp and Russell shared that it also helps kids like them open up and talk more. When she first started theater in fifth grade, VanCamp hated it. Despite that, she kept doing it, made friends, and fell in love with theater, going from one of the shyest kids to someone who was more extroverted.
The students encourage everyone in the community to check out their upcoming shows. Hedgesville High School will perform “The Lady Pirates of Captain Bree” on April 3, 4, and 5, Spring Mills High School will perform “Twelfth Night” on April 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13, and Martinsburg High School will perform “Beetlejuice Jr.” on May 9 and 10 at the Apollo Civic Theatre.