Although Perry has several qualified and exemplary teachers, one specific individual, Shawna Marquis, has stood out because of her outstanding achievements as a drama director.

In November, the Perry Theater department attended the State Thespian Festival in which Marquis received the“Coach of the Year” award. Marquis submitted applications to the Thespian organization in order to be considered for the award. “I think the fact that we were the state champions in Arizona had a factor in me winning,” Marquis explained with a grin.

Over the span of her teaching career, Marquis has influenced a number of students to participate in theater.

A novice to theater class, senior Nathanael Rowden, explains that Marquis “is just like one of the students–I’ve sat down and had dinner with her and it’s just like talking to a friend, although I still respect her as a teacher.” This year Rowden is in Marquis’s Advanced Pantomime and Characterization (APAC) class and played the role of John Proctor in The Crucible. “[Marquis] helps out with my acting because she gives her opinion without making you do what she says. If I try something she suggests, she usually just tells me to do what I originally did because it was really good.”

However, Marquis is not a newcomer when it comes to receiving awards in theater, “In high school, I was actually awarded ‘Best Actress’. Theater is my passion, it has always been theater.”

She continues to inspire even veterans who have known theater was their calling all along, such as senior Katelyn Schulze.
“I was in a play in junior high and wanted to expand my experiences in acting in high school, and [Marquis] has given me so many opportunities to be in different shows and competitions in order to find out what I enjoy doing most,” Schulze remarked.

Marquis’s passion for theatre keeps the group competing in events and growing larger every year, boosting its popularity on campus.