The NYSTEA Student Theater Conference is an annual event where students from all over New York State gather at the Villa Roma Resort in Catskills to learn, play, and celebrate the joys of the theater. Over the course of three days, theater students take workshops offered from the extensive list of classes offered, and engage in activities such as swimming in the indoor pool, snow tubing, karaoke, and cooking classes. Overall, the weekend is filled with music, laughter, art-making, and happiness. 

This year, the conference took place from January 10th to 12th. The application process happened in November, and all 27 students at Harrison High School who applied were accepted. Any theater student in 10th- 12th grade in New York State is eligible to apply. Harrison High School students are eligible if they have been involved in one or more school productions, including the fall play or spring musical. Tech crew students are also eligible to attend the conference. 

One exciting aspect of the trip is the opportunity for returning students to reconnect with past connections, especially those they only get to see at NYSTEA. Additionally, third-year seniors get to experience an exclusive banquet dinner dedicated to the celebration of three consistent years at the conference and the development of their theater, tech, and musical abilities throughout that time. Joey Lipple-Smetana, third-year conference attendee and HHS senior, commented, “I made quick friends because everyone knew how it felt to be nervous already, so everyone had someone to talk to. It was super welcoming, and it was really rewarding to know I’d stuck it out for three years and had an amazing experience each time, and be fed for it too.”

This year, HHS students were accompanied by Tech Crew Supervisor Noah Platte and Chorus teacher Maxwell Shackman, their 2025 NYSTEA chaperones. Platte said, “My first year at NYSTEA proved to be a success, and I was pleasantly surprised to see just how many different workshops and opportunities there were for people to discover new talents they didn’t know they had.” The only aspect of the conference he would change is to incorporate more tech-centered and instrumental/pit orchestra workshops. 

Every year, there are over 100 workshops ranging from The History of Gay Theater to Lighting For The High School Stage. From year to year, the majority of the classes offered remain the same; however, a few are switched around based on student feedback. For example, this year, a brand new and very popular class was an introduction to wood grain painting, which was exciting for tech crew members and actors alike, with no background knowledge necessary to succeed.

In addition to workshops, every year there is an opening ceremony featuring a keynote speaker. This year’s speaker was none other than Andrew Barth Feldman, also known as Evan Hansen on Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen. He also starred in Netflix’s No Hard Feelings as Percy Becker and had a guest role in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

During his performance at NYSTEA, he spoke about his experience as a theater student and performer, sharing stories of his youth and coming of age in the world of acting. In addition to speaking, he also shared three songs with his audience. One song was Alone In The Universe from the musical Seussical, and one was I Love Betsy from Honeymoon In Vegas, the song he sang at the Jimmy Awards in 2018, the year he won. The third song was from his role in the movie No Hard Feelings. In the movie, he had the rare opportunity to compose and sing live an arrangement of an 80s song, Maneater. The producers didn’t initially want him to sing the song live, as it is typical for songs in movies to be pre-recorded in a studio. However, Andrew shared with the audience, “The whole point of the moment was for my character to come out of his shell, not to sound good or polished or for the audience to be like ‘wow they got a boy who can sing’.” Feldman advocated for himself and his character, as he believed that the song and scene were imperfect; therefore, pre-recording the song would compromise the integrity of the moment. He finally won over the producers and sang the song live on the set of No Hard Feelings. He sang his arrangement of Maneater live for the second time ever at NYSTEA, the first time being when he filmed it in the movie. Audrey Cheung, HHS sophomore and a first-time conference attendee, said, “His performance was shocking and impressive. I liked his performance a lot because I knew him from Dear Evan Hansen.”  

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Students at cooking class with Chef Paul

With so many activities, classes, special guests, and experiences, the weekend is jam-packed. However, what stood out the most to students was their connections with peers. One 2024 HHS graduate explained, “My favorite part of the trip must’ve been growing my relationships with my peers who you spend a lot of time with throughout the entire trip. This is due to the design of the conference, which highly encourages students to spend time outside of their rooms and interacting with different people.” It is common at NYSTEA to run into spontaneous hallway karaoke sessions, tech kids blocking their favorite music video, and dancers choreographing a hip-hop routine to The Ketchup Song. While these activities may seem odd to the average person, to a theater kid, the opportunity to express oneself with other theater students is incredibly freeing. Music and creativity are incredible vessels for connection. Theater kids are all bonded together by their love of storytelling and conveying emotion. As Audrey Cheung explained, “NYSTEA truly is a place where theater kids can thrive with people who love the same things.” 

Syosset High School junior Roarke Wightman said, “My experience at NYSTEA was quite literally one of the best weekends of my life. I made so many new friends and learned so much, it was just really great and everybody was so friendly.” With college just around the corner for many, state-wide conferences such as this one provide a great opportunity to create longer-term connections and lifelong friendships that will allow for even more opportunities. 

NYSTEA 2025 was a great memory for the scrapbook, and NYSTEA 2026 is sure to be an even wilder ride. Cheung said, “I would love to go back next year. In fact, I’m waiting to go back!”