Friday, Jan. 10, the theater department traveled to Lincoln for the Nebraska Thespians festival. High schools from around the state gathered for the two-day festival, where they put on shows, and participated in workshops and a one-act competition. After the festival, a banquet was held and awards were announced.

Theater department director Jeremy Stoll was expecting some of his students to qualify for the national ITS festival, and this expectation was met when five of his students placed high enough to attend the National Thespian Festival, which will be held at the UNL campus in June. But there was another surprise that Stoll wasn’t expecting — to win the Teacher of the Year (TOY) award.

Back in October, senior stage manager Audrey Leclou and senior actress Kylea Mathison nominated Stoll for the teacher of the year award, and the winner is announced at the ITS festival. After the student awards were announced at the festival, it was announced that Stoll had won the TOY award.

“I was really surprised to get the award, because I’ve only been teaching in this position for a year and a half,” Stoll said. “It was really nice to be chosen by my colleagues though.”

To nominate someone for the theater teacher of the year award, three letters of recommendation are required, one from a student, a students’ parent and another teacher. After the recommendation letters are submitted, other theater department troupe sponsors vote for who they think is most worthy of the award.

Stoll’s nomination process began with being nominated by the students, and then he was nominated by his colleagues. Leclou explains why she thinks Stoll deserved to win the teacher of the year award.

“What makes him stand out is the fact that he’s so young, yet still able to do all of this,” Leclou said.  “And all of the other schools have two or three directors, so it’s pretty amazing that for the most part he’s the only adult leader here.”

Although he has only been here for a year and a half, Leclou thinks Stoll has led the theater department in the right direction, as he had created many new programs for students to experience more aspects of theater than just acting.

“He’s had a lot more kids involved through the new technical program,” Leclou said. “In the past we have had just one or two stage managers, and then we have hired technical help to build our sets. But now we are all doing it ourselves, and our last show of the year is going to be entirely student ran. He’s really made everything more independent for students.”

Stoll has also been networking with other theater teachers and schools to have students go to different shows around Omaha. He thinks this has been a good way for theater students at Westside to be able to see and learn techniques other schools use.

“One thing I’ve been trying to do with ITS is partner with other schools so we have groups that go see their shows, and then they send groups to come see our shows,” Stoll said. “That way I get to see what other directors are doing, and the kids get to know each other too.”

Stoll has also began a new program in the theater department this year. At the end of the previous school year, then theater five students wrote their own one act plays, and theater two students read them in class. This year, Stoll wants to take it a step further and have the last theater production be a showcasing of these one-act plays that previous students wrote.

“Our fourth production this year is going to be project 66,” Stoll said. “Which is a showcase of four original one acts that were written by theater 5 students last year. I’ve been meeting with them to polish and perfect their plays over the course of the year. Those students are going to direct and cast their own original one act.”

With all of the changes Stoll has made in the theater department in his short time leading at the high school, he wants to increase the diversity of ways for students to get involved in theater, and to get students motivated to be involved, even if they don’t want to be on stage.

“I’m always focused on what’s going to give my students the best opportunities and experiences before they go into a college theater program,” Stoll said. “Very few students have the opportunity to write and produce their own work before they get to that level.