STO Saturdays - Day 8 - Robyn Simpson

Meet STO Robyn Simpson!

Robyn is a senior at Del Sol Academy of the Performing Arts, Troupe 6849! She is one of her Jesters Improv Club presidents and is always excited to play some improv. She loves a lot of things so it really depends on the week, but mostly listening to music and talking to her friends. Robyn loves theatre and directing, and her favorite show she's ever been in was a small black box production of Stage Kiss. Over quarantine, she's been able to take the opportunity to learn more about herself and the rest of the world. Her goal as an STO is to always be a friendly face to those who need it in these hard times, and to bring more representation into theatre!

Questions From Thespians

Are you in any clubs?

I am in one club, which is our improv club, and I’m really proud because even through

the pandemic a lot of clubs aren’t running but improv is. I’m lucky enough to have a

really fun team that I get to hang out and play games with every Thursday.

What was it like going to ITF with Platform 9?

So, in 2019 I directed a one-act called Platform 9 and we performed as the Chapter

Select for Nevada and it was crazy, stressful, really fun, and like, the most rewarding

thing I’ve ever done.

What was it like being the President of a theatre board?

It was probably one of my favorite things that I did my junior year. My board was super

awesome and we had a lot of fun together. We planned a lot of events, like a booth at

tailgate and a haunted house. I’m kind of sad that we didn’t get to see all of the great

things we could’ve done if the year hadn’t ended so early.

What is your favorite musical?

My favorite musical is Once On This Island. I grew up listening to it. My mom would

always play it in the car and we’d all sing along to it. I actually got to see the revival at

the Smith Center like, right before everything shut down, so that was really cool.

How was running for STO?

So, ask any STO this question and you’ll pretty much get the same response which was,

it was really crazy, super fun. There was a lot of running around and overall I just really

enjoyed being able to meet people who were passionate about the same things that

I’m passionate about.

Any advice for directing shows?

I think that the best piece of advice I can give for directing is to get to know how your

actors take notes because not everyone processes information the same way. Does your

actor do better with harsher constructive criticism or do they need a lot of positive

reinforcement in order to improve. Things like that and then specialize the way you give

notes to that specific actor.

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