FAQ

The CAPA Marquee program is part of the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA). Because CAPA is a member of the Broadway League, Columbus is an official Regional Awards Program of The Jimmy Awards®/National High School Musical Theatre Awards®. CAPA sponsors the prestigious national program for high school musical theatre students through its local awards program—the CAPA Marquee Awards.

To be considered for participation in the CAPA Marquee Awards, schools must submit an online application and present a full-length musical from a list of Jimmy® Awards-approved productions between mid October – mid April (exact dates vary each year)..

OK, that’s a lot of information (pulled from the CAPA website), but what does it mean for Troupe 513?

We pay a $150 entry fee for our Marquee musical to be considered in Marquee competition each year. If we are chosen to be considered, at some point during the run, three Marquee adjudicators will watch the show for consideration for awards. Here’s more specific information about the Marquee Awards process (And peep the pics of Troupe 513 kids!)
Discounted tickets to CAPA Broadway shows. Because of Troupe 513’s involvement in the CAPA Marquee program, we receive information to buy tickets to Broadway in Columbus shows at a discount.
Access for the students to participate in Marquee Broadway Master Classes. When many of the touring shows come to town, a company member will teach a master class. Enrollment is at first limited to one student from each Marquee school, but then spots open up and are first come, first served to students from Marquee schools. Here’s more information on the master classes.

Being a part of the CAPA Marquee program has a lot of benefits, as you can see. For the students participating in the Marquee musical, it’s the chance to perform on stage at the Ohio Theatre at the end of the year. Troupe 513 has had two Marquee winners in just the past five years (Caleb Jingo for lead actor in “Catch Me If You Can” in 2019 and Bella Price for lead actress in “Bright Star” in 2022).

What are troupe dues and why should my child join?

As a reminder, troupe membership is for students.

International Thespians is the honor society that Troupe 513 is part of. Our troupe number (513) comes from when South joined International/Ohio Thespians. Most of our troupe is very active and pays dues to earn points and be a formal part of the troupe. (Joining thespians isn’t required to participate in South theatre.)

If your student wants to be an inducted thespian, they need to have paid dues. The form and payment need to be turned in to Wolfe, not the Boosters.

If your student is a freshman and pays now, your student gets credit for points earned through this whole year. If your student is a sophomore and joins/pays now, they get credit for points earned this year (freshman year points won’t carry over).

As a rule, if a student is involved heavily with two Main Stage shows and one extra thing (like Scho Show, a student-directed one-act, Drama Camp, etc.), they will earn enough points to become a thespian. This counts for pit, crew, and cast.

At the end-of-year induction & awards ceremony, new thespians are inducted, and kids who are already members are recognized for earning more points and achieving various honor ranks.

What is Booster membership and why should I join?

Booster membership is for the grownups! (Thespian membership is for the kids.) Our booster group is very active, having meetings once a month and doing numerous things to support Troupe 513. We also take care of concessions at main stage shows, coordinate snacks and meals for the company of main stage shows, offer fundraisers, provide programs for shows, offer scholarships to seniors, and so much more!

And to do all that, we need a large and varied membership! We need and want to hear from families of kids who enjoy all the aspects of Troupe 513! Maybe your kid only wants to be center stage, or maybe your kid only wants to create the beautiful sets, or maybe your kid wants to try it all to find their place. That’s all awesome and wonderful, and having parents/families participate in boosters with those perspectives helps our group make sure we’re supporting all the kids!

So follow the membership link and join today! Our membership right now doesn’t reflect the numbers we have in this Facebook group, so if you haven’t taken the couple minutes to join, please do today!

Members have voting privileges at all meetings and can hold office too! Becoming a member also makes sure you’re on the email list so announcements, updates, and events come straight to your inbox. Other membership benefits include having your name listed in the program, being told first when tickets go on sale, and that good feeling you get when you help a non-profit dedicated to helping theatre kids.

For each mainstage production, Boosters will send out a link to the One Stop Shop for that show. This form is very important, so please fill it out for your thespian/s as soon as possible, whether they are in the cast, working on sets, lighting the show, or doing any of the dozens of very important jobs that get these shows on stage!

Adults will receive the link (through our various communication channels, but you only need to fill it out once) after the cast and crew are announced. The One Stop Shop form is the way we 1) get contact information, 2) collect the fees, 3) get T-shirt sizes, and 4) get ads, among other things.

Many items are included in the One Stop Shop fee:

One t-shirt/sweatshirt (included in the OSS fee). You can order more for an additional fee

Company Meals (included in the OSS fee). Boosters will provide multiple meals and snacks, usually on longer rehearsal days and during tech week. Meal dates will be announced ahead of time by the director.

Concessions Donation (included in the OSS fee). Boosters will bulk purchase concession items and water with the monetary concession donations. Families will no longer have to purchase and deliver items for concession stand sales.

Company Party (included in the OSS fee). Boosters will pass on these funds to the company party host during show weekend to help with food costs.

Financial Assistance Donations. If you would like to make a donation in any amount to cover the cost for students who need financial assistance, please indicate the amount on the form.

Program Ads and Shout Outs. For each mainstage production, we produce a lovely program. Ads help us pay the costs of the program, raise a little money, and celebrate your thespian! An ad can be a variety of sizes (see information in the form) and include a picture or several. A shout out is a one-line ad of 10 words maximum.

Ohio Fall Conference is a one-day event that rolls five fantastic events into one. It includes the Ohio Unified Auditions and interviews, the All-Ohio Show auditions and interviews, the Thespy Competition, the Technical Theatre & Design Symposium, and the Theatre College & University Fair.

All-Ohio Auditions & Interviews

The annual All-Ohio production is one of Ohio Thespians’ most exciting opportunities. The All-Ohio production serves to bring together the best high school theatre artists throughout the state for a production experience they likely would not have in their school communities, working with a production team of professional theatre artists.

Thespys:

Thespys are an International Thespian Society event and the Fall Conference holds the regional competition. Thespians prepare performances, and tech presentations, write plays, and create films. Those who earn a double superior may be invited to perform at the Spring State Conference. More on Thespys here.

A student-directed one-act is … a one-act play directed by a student. But it’s a lot more than that! These short plays are so much fun for the company and the audience! And they are a great way for thespians to get experience – maybe in a new genre of play or with castmates they haven’t worked with before. And of course it’s a great opportunity and experience for the student-directors!

How are student-directors chosen? Wolfe asks troupe members to fill out an interest form in early spring, and then the student-directors for the next school year are announced at our end-of-year celebration. Student-directors get to choose the one-act they wish to direct, hold auditions, choose their cast, decide costumes, block (figure out where the actors will sit/stand/etc.) and then DIRECT!

If your kiddo is cast in a student-directed one-act, flexibility is key. Our student-directors are completely in charge of scheduling rehearsals, coordinating the use of rehearsal space with the other student-directors, finding rehearsal times that work for most of the cast, etc. Things change. The student-directors are learning right along with your child, and we can support all this fabulous theatre and learning with our patience and understanding.

What happens when my kid gets cast in a main stage show?

If your thespian was cast in one of the four mainstage productions, congratulations to them! If your kiddo wasn’t, please (PLEASE) encourage them to keep on trucking! The student-directed shows are a great way for them to get or stay involved, have a ton of fun, get more audition experience, and learn more about the whole theatre process.

For the casts of the mainstage shows, now the fun and work begin. And for the grownups, there are some housekeeping things and some communications to be aware of.

Make sure your child 1) accepts their role and 2) signs up for the Remind for the show they are in. (Remind groups are capped at 150 members, so as long as there is room, the parent can join the Remind group too.)
Watch for the One-Stop Shop for the show your child is involved with. Those are usually sent out by Wolfe in a long email that explains a lot. Look for it!
Our One-Stop Shop form does a lot of work around here. This is how we get contact information for the thespians and their grownup/s, allergy information for snacks and meals that boosters provide, T-shirt orders, ads for the playbills, and payment for all of it. There is a bit of a “pay to play” fee involved with each show. We work really hard to raise money all year to underwrite these costs, and financial help is ALWAYS available. But we do ask that if you are able, please pay these fees as soon as possible.
Please keep an eye out for rehearsal schedules! Those come from the director (usually Wolfe), and they are subject to change. This is where your thespian can really flex those organization and scheduling muscles to make sure they are available for those rehearsals and are communicating with Wolfe whenever a problem arises.
Start sharing about the shows on your social media platforms, etc. Usually an event will be created on our public theatre page, so you can easily share those events! Sharing early (and often) helps our friends, families, and neighbors get these events on their calendars now. As we get closer to each show, we will ask you to change your profile pictures to the show logos, etc. Our kids really love performing to big audiences, and the best way to fill seats is to get the word out!

Tech week is Seth’s favorite week of the show as a tech director because this is the week where the cast and crew merge and start to slowly piece everything together and work creatively as one to make a show feel like a show.

At South we tend to break down the week into various cue-to-cue days where we go moment by moment (or from cue to cue) through the show and work out every single small moment as a team and a company.

How does the set move with the actors dancing? When does the mic turn on? What lights turn on when? etc.

We’re working through the whole show VERY slowly to allow us to safely account for every aspect of the show before full dress runs start and the pit joins the fun. This is truly where all the strong individual parts of the show start to come together to make something even better than the sum of its parts! Live theatre is MAGICAL like that!

Scho Show is our annual “scholarship show” (see what we did there?). Run by our senior thespians, this show is always a lot of fun! Everyone from the producer, the director, the choreographer, the music director, and the band leaders are seniors. The troupe puts on the show in memory of Erin Mckenzie, a former troupe member. Also, all the funds raised are used for scholarships for seniors in our theatre troupe!

Anyone who wants to give being on stage a try is encouraged to audition – they take all comers! In fact, here’s what the Scho Show 2022 Insta account says about auditions:

“You can audition/sign up for singing, acting, dancing, band or tech. We want everyone to try out even if you don’t do theater, it’s a fun experience and everyone who tries out makes it in!”

What does Scho Show mean for us as parents/families/boosters?

The money raised at Scho Show goes directly to support troupe scholarships, which are presented in the spring at our end-of-year banquet. Our goal is to raise $5,000 from ticket sales, concessions, and the 50/50 raffle held that night.

So please encourage your kid/s to get involved in Scho Show in some way! And please buy tickets for yourself and your friends and family, share ticket information with your social networks, be ready to buy raffle tickets and concessions, and let’s show our seniors how much we love and support them!

There are many ways to help support the theatre program at South, they include, but are not limited to:

Come to booster meetings. They are usually the same day each month. As of the writing of this, we have not firmed up what day, but we are looking at either the 2nd or 3rd Tuesday of the month
Join the boosters
Get on the baking squad: if you like to bake, let our meal coordinator know and she will ask at different times of the year for desserts to be baked for our kiddos
Get program sponsors: at the beginning of the school year, we ask local businesses to support our program by buying ads in our program. If you know any local business owners that would be interested in advertising (and getting free tickets to shows) let our fundraising coordinator know
Help sell concessions at shows
Scan tickets or work the box office at shows
Sell 50/50 raffle tickets at shows
Help serve meals during tech and show week
Promote shows on social media
Get dinner out on dine out nights
Reach out to the booster board if you have any other skills that might be helpful

What are the volunteer jobs over show weekend?

We’re going to break down the different ways to help for each of our mainstage shows.

A few weeks before show weekend, we will post and share via Remind the Signup Genius. There are many jobs listed, and each has a different time and energy commitment. The jobs are all really low stakes. We make it fun to help, and we don’t expect anyone to be stressed about volunteering. Many hands make light work, and we’ll set you up for success!

** Before we get into the nitty-gritty, please note that it is really helpful and really appreciated when family members sign up for shows that their thespian isn’t involved in! It spreads out the work and helps those with kids in the show focus on the show and their child’s participation in it.

What does each job entail?

Concessions help: We ask five people to sell concessions for each performance. You’ll need to arrive about an hour before showtime for setup and instructions. Concessions are open before the show and during intermission. You’ll be able to watch the show, perhaps sneaking in a few minutes after curtain and sneaking out quickly at intermission. We ask one person to sit in the commons during the first act to keep an eye on things, but we always try to choose a person who has already seen or will get to see the whole show. Prices for each item are posted in several places, and we have made the pricing very straightforward to make the mental math a bit easier. Concessions are a fun way to see all the people coming to the show, and the time goes quickly because there’s always something to do.

Box office helper/scanner: We ask five people to help with this as well, and we also ask that you arrive an hour before showtime. We encourage people to buy tickets in advance, so there are a lot of tickets to scan. We’ll set you up with the tech and the instructions on how to do that. Scanning is a great job if you want to avoid handling money. A few of the box office helpers will sell tickets, following the seating chart for what’s available. Again, this job is a fun way to get to see friends and family coming to the show. You’ll be done with your duties a few minutes after curtain, and you are then done for the night! No work at intermission.

50/50 raffle: Boosters sell 50/50 raffle tickets. We will station one helper in the commons, and the other will roam the auditorium, shaming people into buying tickets. (Who is still reading? This is a test.) You’ll receive instructions before you get started. We sell before the show and at intermission.

Matt Wolfe

wolfem@westerville.k12.oh.us

Wolfe is our director and is a great resource

Seth Sprang

sethsprang@gmail.com

Seth is one of our tech directors and is a great resource for tech/crew questions

Katie Smith

smithk@westerville.k12.oh.us

Katie is our costume director. She is a great resource if you have a question about costumes. Katie is also the attendance clerk at South.

Booster email

troupe513boosters@gmail.com

This is the general booster email that you can use for booster type questions, or if you aren’t sure who to ask

Niki Ducy

niki@ducy.org

314-495-5383

Niki is the booster president for the 2025-2026 school year. If you have a time sensitive question, feel free to text instead of email.

At some point in the run of every mainstage show, we have a company party. (We used to call them cast parties, but it’s for EVERYONE involved in the show in ANY way, so we have started calling them company parties.)

Who is invited? Everyone involved in the show, so the cast, the run crew, the build crew, the paint crew … anyone! If you filled out a one-stop shop for the show, your kid should feel welcome at and included in the company party. (If your kid hesitates and says, “Oh, well, I didn’t do much,” or “I don’t know many people,” please encourage them to come! These parties are a lot of fun, and it’s really where the kids get to hang out and chill in a way different than during rehearsals.) We do ask that kids don’t bring guests, even if it’s a really fun Troupe 513 member. Company from that show only.

What will they do? Mostly they hang out, play games, eat, laugh, and get VERY loud. It’s so much fun to listen to all the noise these kids make.

Are they supervised? Yes, the parent(s) will be home, and they make the rounds and show their faces.

When does it start? Basically after the show, whenever the kids arrive. It is usually (but not always) after the Friday show. No one should feel rushed; they’ll have plenty of time to hang out and have fun. We’re doing it after the Friday show because the Saturday show call won’t be super early.

What can my thespian bring? Sometimes a suggested list will go out by class. Example: seniors bring soda, juniors chips, etc.

NO NUTS!!

If you or your kid doesn’t have time to go shopping, no worries at all! We will have more than enough food, and no one will go hungry. Don’t let not bringing something be an excuse your kid uses to miss the party.

Who pays for the main food and dessert? You did! When you filled out the one-stop shop and sent in the money, $5 of that fee went into the company party fund. Thank you!

Where is it? Wolfe will send out the name of the hosting family and address prior to the show. If your thespian drives, please encourage them to offer a ride to a non-driver, if that’s something you’re comfortable with and is allowed.

When does it end? Usually the party ends around midnight, but kids leave these parties whenever their grownup tells them to, so please do what is best for you and your thespian if they need to leave earlier.

When we arrive at dance rehearsal, we often do a quick warm-up like jumping jacks and a few stretches to get going! Wearing tennis shoes or dance shoes helps the actors learn and stay injury-free! There is a lot to learn at dance rehearsal. We learn the steps our feet will do, how our arms are to move, and also our places on the stage that can be constantly moving and changing! This is a very creative process incorporating these elements:

The music and what kind of movement the quality of the music calls for
The lyrics play a big part in the dance because we should help tell the story with our movement.
The set plays a part in the choreography because we have to work around it or dance on it.
We sometimes add props to dances based on the story and what makes sense.
At times we are choreographing two, three, or more versions of each dance as the leads do different work than the ensemble and so on.
Places and formations come into play with the choreography as well. We like to move the ensemble around on stage so it isn’t always the same people in the front and sometimes that doesn’t work out, but when it can, we want everyone to have their “moment”!

In the first rehearsal, we are creating a rough draft, giving us the opportunity to make changes as needed when all of the pieces come together. The performer’s responsibility is to learn the material and memorize the dances. We make videos of the dances for the cast to use to practice and get ready for the stage.

Performers are expected to know the material that was taught at the first session the next time we do the dance. There just isn’t time to go back and re-teach the dances. Rehearsals after the first day will focus on making sure we are performance ready – places defined, details set, and the singing and dancing combined! Singing and dancing at the same time can be very difficult! Give it a try!

Things you can do to get ready for show week:

Top of the need-to-know list is information around how to enter the school for all performances! Please enter through the “Home of the Wildcats” door that faces the parking lot off Illinois Avenue. Please tell your friends and family who are coming to the show, especially those who might be used to entering off Otterbein. The nice part about entering through the new main entrance (again, that’s the one off Illinois Avenue) is that you will come into the commons, which is where we’ll be taking and selling tickets, where we’ll be selling candy, snacks, shoutouts before the show and during intermission, and where the company will greet fans, friends, and family after the show.
Buy your tickets! You can go to the link OR you can check out the Hometown Ticketing app! bit.ly/WSHStix
Share about the show! Please post about the show on your various social media accounts, in any groups you’re a part of, with friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers! And when you see another person post about the show, please like and comment! Feel free to use any of the images we have shared on the facebook page.
Sign up to help during show week
Encourage your kiddo to hydrate and get sleep. Speaking of hydrate there is usually a big water jug available on show days backstage so encourage them to bring a reusable water bottle.
There will be a company party (usually, but not always, Friday night)
To buy tickets at the door, we accept cash or you can use your credit card to buy online. But to avoid those pesky fees, bring cash.
For concessions, we accept cash or a contactless credit card. Theatre candy is $3; regular-size candy and water is $2; chips are $1.
We’ll also be selling “split the pot” or 50/50 raffle tickets, so bring some cash to support Troupe 513 boosters. The winner splits the pot with the boosters.
We’ll be selling candy grams for company members too. A candy gram can be purchased for $1, or you can add a shoutout to any purchased candy at the above price (no added cost).
Show week is such an exciting time! The kids (and adults) have worked so hard, and now all that hard work pays off with terrific shows! Keep sharing the tickets and show information so we can pack the house! See you there!

Proscenium stage vs. Black Box

A proscenium stage is a traditional theater design that uses an architectural frame, called a proscenium arch, to separate the audience from the performers and frame the view of the stage. Our main auditorium seats 700+, but often seats are removed for the pit and in the case of Mamma Mia, an extended stage.

A black box theatre is a simple performance space, typically a square room with black walls and a flat floor.

Most of South’s shows have been on the traditional stage (Charlie Brown, Peter and the Starcatcher, Mamma Mia, etc). But we often use the black box format to achieve a more intimate space. Our black box is on the stage and uses risers to have seats set up on three sides of the performance space. The black box was used for Blood at the Root and Peerless, and is often used for student directed full length shows. The black box set up seats about 80.

Winter Cabaret is South Troupe 513’s annual variety show put on by the students. Any student can sign up for any kind of performance they want to give – some do short skits, some sing, some dance, some play instruments, some do it all! It’s a really fun evening, and you’ll see kids push themselves in doing things they don’t usually do. As Wolfe tells us, “It’s a chance for students to perform on stage, gain confidence and perform for one another.”

What are the CAPA Marquee Master Classes?

Troupe 513 is part of CAPA’s Marquee program. One of the amazing perks of this program is access for the students to participate in Marquee Broadway Master Classes. When many of the touring shows come to town, a company member will teach a master class. Enrollment is at first limited to one student from each Marquee school, but then spots open up and are first come, first served to students from Marquee schools.

As you might know, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving has become Giving Tuesday, where various nonprofit groups ask for donations. You might have already received some emails or letters from groups you support preparing you for Giving Tuesday.

In the past few years, Troupe 513 Theatre Boosters has asked our supporters to participate in Giving Tuesday, with great results!

How you can help: Please, before Giving Tuesday (like, today would be great ) invite friends, family, and neighbors to join our public Facebook page. This public page makes creating events and sharing posts about Giving Tuesday very easy, as all those posts can be shared much more easily than they can be from our private booster group. You can explain that the public page gives your friends, family, and neighbors an easy way to stay updated on Troupe 513 events and links to buy tickets to our wonderful shows, etc.

Here’s the public Facebook page

Share the Giving Tuesday posts: Please share at least one (but more/all would be even better) post on your personal page on Giving Tuesday. The earlier in the day, the better. And when you share, you could include what Troupe 513 means to yourself and your kid/s. As we get closer to Giving Tuesday, please keep an eye on out for further instructions. And if you have any ideas of how to promote Giving Tuesday in support of Troupe 513, please share them.

What is the Black History Month (BHM) show?

The BHM show is written, choreographed, directed, and performed by students. The BHM show is put on each year by a club, and that club is separate from Troupe 513 and from our boosters. It’s a fantastic show, and we are so glad to support the BHM company! We will be selling concessions at each show, so come on out and get that candy!

Who are the other adults that work with the troupe (besides Wolfe)?

Troupe 513 is blessed to have the most fabulous director in Wolfe, and he’d be the first to tell you he can’t do it alone. He has surrounded himself with the very best with his music director, tech directors, choreographer, and costume designer. (Sometimes schedules don’t work out, and other wonderful people step in, but for the most part, these are the folks you’ll see around Troupe 513 productions.)

Tyler Domer – music director and pit conductor

Chris Tucker – technical director with a focus on sets and working with the build and paint crews

Seth Sprang – technical director with a focus on sound and lighting and working with the sound/lighting booth kids

Cindy Straub – choreographer

Katie Smith – costume designer

Thank you to all these adults who are so generous with their time and talents! Watching them work with our kids is such a treat, and we’re so lucky to have them as part of Troupe 513!

Theatremas is a fun way for our troupe members to spend time together outside a show. It brings together ALL the troupe kids, so please encourage your thespian to join the fun!

The kids gather in the auditorium. There will be some kind of treat and a white elephant gift exchange.

To be part of the gift exchange where kids can “steal” presents from each other, students just need to bring in a gift that costs $10 max! If a student needs help getting a gift, they should please talk to Wolfe. He always has extras, but he’ll want to make sure everyone is covered.

And tell your thespian to wear their best “ugly holiday” sweater/shirt/sweatshirt/outfit!

Here’s the website with some info about Ohio Thespians and the conference: https://www.ohedta.com/state-thespian-conference

In odd years the conference is in central Ohio, with even years being not central Ohio. When it is not in central Ohio we stay in a hotel. Conference starts at 5p on Friday and goes until around noon on Sunday.

Let’s start with Rubber ducks. Rubber ducks are sold at conference. The sale of rubber ducks is a way for the STOs to raise money for Thespian scholarships. Some kids get really into duck buying and end up getting a lot. Some kids get one or two, and then others don’t buy any.

Now you are probably asking what is an STO? An STO is a State Thespian Officer. Our very own Ny’Asia (‘25) was an STO. STOs represent different areas of Ohio and they do things to help out with the conference. I’m not clear on all their tasks, but as mentioned above, they sell ducks to raise money and they also help emcee parts of the conference.

Let’s talk about food. The conference supplies lunch and dinner on Saturday, and the boosters usually coordinate pizza Friday evening and/or Saturday evening.

The conference will be full of workshops and performances, bookended by an opening ceremony and a closing ceremony. Download the app once it is available and you can see all of the workshops and performances that will be available. If you click on any of the choices there will be a description of the workshop or performance. In addition to the workshops and performances, there will be an area with vendors and college reps. This is a good place to talk to different colleges if your thespian is interested in going into theatre (both performance and the tech side). You do not need to sign up for the workshops - you just show up at the time it says on the app. There are a couple of workshops that are invite only, but those are indicated on the app.

All Ohio show: At the Fall Conference there are auditions and interviews for the All Ohio show. Kids from all over Ohio participate in putting together this show, which is a play in odd years and a musical in even years. They basically work on the All Ohio show on 3 day weekends. The kids from out of town, stay with host families. There is usually a public viewing of the show the Thursday before the conference starts. The All Ohio show will be shown twice during the conference.

Wolfe, Seth, Katie, and at least 4 parent chaperones will be there the whole weekend and are available if the kids have any questions or needs etc.

This is a long weekend, I encourage everyone to be well fed, well hydrated, and ready to have fun and learn some things. You can send your kid with money for concessions, ducks, silent auction, and vendors. But money is not necessary - some kids don’t spend any money.