DramaCon takes center stage at USU
The Utah State University campus buzzed with activity on Jan. 25 as thespians from high schools across the state arrived for the Utah Theatre Association’s 2025 DramaCon: Level Up!
For three days, students learned from professionals and professors alike about the ins and outs of the theater world. Workshops, performances and speakers helped provide an interactive experience for the students to learn new skills and see what a future in the theater arts could look like.
Kirsten Anderson is the secretary and merch director for the UTA board.
“The high schoolers, who are looking at what colleges to attend, have an opportunity to connect with the professors and can ask questions about different programs, different opportunities and what different schools offer,” Anderson said.
Anderson said UTA may hire professionals to lead workshops, but many professors and actors volunteer or ask to come back to the conference each year.
This year’s conference featured various famous actors and singers, including Carissa Fiorillo, former Radio City Rockette and Broadway star, who presented four scholarships for students to attend the weeklong Broadway intensives camp in Times Square, and Dion Graham, award-winning audiobook narrator and professional actor.
Casey Ellis, known for his talents as a tenor in the cinematic pop trio GENTRI, performed in the Daines Concert Hall with actor and singer Megan Heaps on Jan. 27 for the final conference meeting.
Matt Conover, vice president of Disney Live Entertainment at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, was one of the keynote speakers at the conference.
He also held workshops for students interested in acting at Disney locations and discussed the career opportunities and avenues for those interested in the theater arts.
“I think you all here in Utah are very fortunate with a very robust arts program in high school,” Conover said. “I am here to celebrate that and hopefully make sure that people know — students and parents — that there are jobs in this business, and those jobs aren’t just in New York and on Broadway.”
According to Anderson, a big part of the conference was showing high schoolers theater can be an actual career they can pursue.
“Theater doesn’t have to end at high school. There are lots of opportunities and so many different opportunities,” Anderson said.
There were a variety of workshops offered each day of the conference, including advanced stage makeup, large-scale puppet design, lighting, sound, set and costume design, practices and skills for the voice and for the stage, dancing/choreography, songwriting and playwriting.
“I think UTA gives [high schoolers] that opportunity to really say, ‘Yes, I’m committing to make this, so that I get to make it like that person up there on that stage or that person who’s teaching my workshop,’” Anderson said. “This isn’t just something fun to do — this can be an actual, lifelong experience.”
Conover said high school students don’t go into theater in college because they believe they will never make it in Broadway or the professional acting career. He emphasized the use of Disney Live Entertainment as a tool to reach career avenues previously thought to be unreachable.
“I was a theater student in high school. Back then, I didn’t even know that this job existed, much less wanted to do it and be able to come to a setting like this and to have thousands of high school students see someone who was just where they are. It is attainable,” Conover said.
The students were able to watch several performances over three days. The shows were put on by Logan High School, Sky View High School, Green Canyon High School and Utah State University.
Productions included “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” “Shrek the Musical,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Between the Lines.” Additionally, UTA’s joint production “SIX: Teen Edition” was performed as part of one of the workshops.
Faculty from the Caine College of the Arts, along with student volunteers, helped set up and ensure the events ran smoothly.
“USU has been fabulous at giving us support,” Anderson said. “We had more student help than we’ve ever had, setting up the merch table, getting things where they need to go. It feels that USU is welcoming us here, and the facilities have also all been really great. That’s not always the case at other colleges, so this has been a really good one. I would love to come back here.”