Theatre Guild Programs

The Guild serves the Theatre Conservatory's students and teachers in a variety of meaningful ways. Funds raised by the Theatre Guild are used to provide resources, enrichment opportunities and programs like Feed the Kids, Senior Showcase, and Scholarships. The Guild offers additional support to our Theatre Conservatory students and their families in the form of events, activities and information.    

Communications

The Theatre Guild members have access to a weekly email newsletter containing important updates and information from the Theatre Conservatory. Additionally, the Guild uses social media to keep the members and wider community informed. This website also serves as a repository about past, present and future events. It's easy to join the Theatre Guild or renew your membership here.     

Feed the Kids

This program was one of the biggest needs that led to the creation of the Theatre Guild. Feed the Kids was designed to provide healthy meals for the cast and crew of each Theatre Conservatory production before those technical/dress rehearsals or performances that end late in the evening. Feed the Kids keeps the students on campus and allows them to focus on putting together the best show possible rather than a growling stomach. Each year thousands of meals are provided at no cost to students and faculty who are staying at school for Theatre Conservatory rehearsals or shows with a scheduled end time after 8:00pm. Additionally, the Guild provides a variety of snacks for the cast and crew members who are staying afterschool but not late enough to qualify for a full meal. Click this link if you are interested in donating to help us feed the kids whether you would like to feed one kid OR the entire cast and crew.  If you need additional information please reach out to our Feed the Kids Co-Chairs via email feedthekids@btwtheatreguild.com. 

Member Events

Throughout the year, the Theatre Guild hosts regular meetings at school and special events for Theatre Conservatory students and their families. Many families first learn about the Theatre Guild at Booker T Washington's I Am Booker T Day when admitted students' come to campus in the spring before they will attend. The first Theatre Guild event for new families is Back-to-School Bash held near the end of summer break. New students and their families are invited to a fun casual dinner off campus where they can hear more about what to expect during their first year at Booker T.  Theatre Conservatory faculty and current seniors lead the conversation and offer personal insight and tips to smooth the newest students' transition to scholar artist. After the school year gets underway, the Theatre Guild hosts some adults-only events to provide parents and guardians a chance to meet and socialize, these include Back to School dinner meeting and as well as an end of first semester Holiday Party. The final Theatre Guild sponsored event for most Theatre students is the Theatre Conservatory Senior Awards Dinner held in May. Each year, seniors and their parents/guardians are treated to a celebratory meal with the Theatre Faculty at no cost to attendees. The Theatre Guild aims to make membership available to all Theatre Conservatory families. You can join for free or as a paying member which will helps make programs like these possible. Click here to join the Theatre Guild or renew your membership.     

Production Support

There are times when the Theatre Conservatory needs a little help from the Guild to make sure that all the props or costume pieces can be sourced. With an average of six staged Theatre Conservatory productions per year, student costume designers, prop masters, set designers and stage managers are working with their show's directors and faculty advisors to assemble a wide variety of raw materials and sourced items on a schedule. The Theatre Guild can provide the extra funding to make some of these seemingly impossible requests a reality. These are not always high value asks but in 2026 when the Mime Troupe's costume crew for the Legend of Lear needed dozens of pairs of tights to complete the Shakespearean attire they knew that they could look to the Guild to make it happen. When the set construction crew for the Musical Theatre production of Sister Act needed a new saw, the Guild was able to make it happen quickly so the set construction deadlines were not effected. The money raised from the Guild's Concessions and Merchandise sales at Theatre Conservatory events & shows goes to benefit the Theatre Conservatory students and faculty. If you attend a Theatre Conservatory production, you will see the playbills with cast lists, individual ads and paid sponsorships help the Guild including allowing us to provide playbills free of change.         

Scholarships

As of 2026, the Theatre Guild has awarded over $69,000 to graduating seniors. There are currently three categories of Theatre Guild Scholarships available to eligible seniors in the Theatre Conservatory. All three are designed to recognize the students' contributions to the Theatre Conservatory. The Karon Cogdill Scholarship was first awarded following Ms. Cogdill's 2021 retirement from Booker T Washington HSPVA. This scholarship recognizes the recipients' contributions to the Theatre Conservatory and their continued pursuit of an arts education while honoring Ms. Cogdill's legacy of making an education in theatre accessible to all. The Louise Smith Scholarship honors the Theatre Cluster Director who preceded Ms. Cogdill in the director role. This scholarship recognizes the recipients' contributions to the Theatre Conservatory and their continued pursuit of an arts education while celebrating Ms. Smith's role in establishing the foundation of the current Theatre Conservatory. The Pegasus Scholarship recognizes a student's contributions to the Theatre Conservatory, however, Pegasus Scholarship recipients intend to attend college with an academic focus outside the theatre. Click here to learn more about the Theatre Guild Scholarships and recent recipients..
 

Senior Showcase 

The Theatre Guild provides support to the Theatre faculty and students as they prepare for and participate in the school wide Booker T Washington HSPVA College Showcase held on campus in November. The Theatre Guild assists with communications between the Theatre Conservatory faculty and the hundreds of representatives from colleges, universities and conservatories that are invited to attend Theatre Showcase events. Leading up to Showcase, the Guild provides an interview skills workshop for the seniors to prepare them for their one-on-one interactions during Showcase and beyond.  During Showcase, the Theatre Guild creates and maintains an on-campus hospitality suite for the visiting Representatives, hosts a coffee for the seniors to meet the Reps, feeds the Showcasing Seniors and their junior buddies, creates a senior lounge for students to use between their auditions, showcases & callbacks and provides additional on campus support so that the Theatre faculty can focus on the students during the actual Showcase events. Showcase may only last for two days in November but the Theatre Guild spends months before and after making sure that seniors are able to connect with representatives who then have access to students' showcase materials both on campus and virtually.

These are just some of the ways that the Theatre Guild supports the faculty and students from the Theatre Conservatory at Dallas' Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. You can help the Theatre Guild by joining as a sustaining member, making a donation, or becoming a corporate sponsor.