WEST Membership

Photo Courtesy Rock Springs High School

WEST Board

President: Dustin Hebert (Kelly Walsh High School)
Dustin Hebert, theatre teacher at Kelly Walsh High School, is coming to us from Denver, Colorado. After he received his undergrad in musical theatre performance he received his equity credits in Utah and moved to Denver to continue his career. After performing in the regional premiere of Spamalot, he began teaching English in the public sector. He moved to Casper three years ago and is enjoying his second year as theatre director.


Vice-President: Sarah Bessette (Campbell County High School)
Sarah has been involved with the State Drama Competition for twelve years and served the board in many capacities for ten of those years. She is once again running the makeup room, schedules, and will be judging makeup for the 2018 State Drama. Sarah first fell in love with theatre in college at BHSU and has been apart of of 50 productions. Her and her husband Tim Bessette have grown their theatre progam from 10 students to around 60 who have 8 performances year round, including one acts, Devised, straight shows, and musicals.

Secretary: Emily Beitel (Rock Springs High School)
Growing in the tiny town of Encampment, WY, Emily was first bitten by the acting bug when she was in the 6th grade and started performing in summer melodramas with her dad and continued to do so throughout high school. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wyoming in 2008, then spent a brief stint teaching in Southern Illinois. It wasn’t long, though, before the mountains and beauty of Wyoming called her back home, and she taught English and Theatre for three years at a middle school in Green River, Wyoming. Seeking a change, she moved up to teaching high school at Rock Springs, where she currently teaches English, and coaches theatre in Green River. She has two wonderful cats named Tom and Huck that are the loves of her life, and she looks forward to serving on the WEST Board and helping young people across the state experience and grow from the magic of theatre.

Treasurer: Christina Niemann Zarr (Cheyenne East High School)
After 29 years of teaching, directing and acting in Colorado, Texas, North Carolina and Idaho Christina was offered the theatre position at Cheyenne East High in 2013. WEST, the scholarship opportunities and strong higher ed recruiting connections for theatre students was one of the deciding factors for Christina when choosing to make the move to Wyoming. Christina accepted the theatre arts teaching position at Cheyenne East High School in large part due to this organization and is grateful for the opportunity to serve in a capacity that is close to her heart. “Attention students: You can pay for college doing what you love! Your theatre talent and skill set are honored in Wyoming. Please audition for scholarships at state competition in your senior year.”

Scholarship Chair: Christina Niemann Zarr (Cheyenne East High School)

Member at Large: Mary McGillivray (Hot Springs County School District)
Mary McGillivray is the Elementary Music Teacher for Hot Springs County School District in Thermopolis, Wyoming, where she also has the privilege of being the Drama Team Coach. Born and raised in Sheridan, Wyoming, the arts have always played a very important role in Mary's life. After graduating high school, Mary attended Casper College and then moved on to Black Hills State University, where she received a Bachelors in Vocal Music Performance, a Bachelors in Music Education, and a minor in Speech Communications: Theatre Emphasis. In 2015, Mary received her Masters in Music Education from the University of Wyoming. During her time at Casper College and Black Hills State University Mary was constantly involved in theatre. While attending college, Mary worked for summer theatre programs in numerous roles and technical positions and as a historical re-enactor, portraying Calamity Jane in Deadwood, South Dakota for a summer in the street performances. Mary was also nominated for an Irene Ryan Award for her performance in Lucky Duck at Black Hills State University.

Non-Voting Member: Jaylen Baxter
Jaylen Baxter is currently a college sophomore attending Gillette College. He has been involved in the performing arts since 7th grade, and graduated from Campbell County High School in 2017. While in high school, Jaylen attended many choir conferences and also participated in many musicals throughout his community. He decided to stay in Gillette to help advocate for the arts inside his community through his seat on the WEST Board, directing musicals and mentoring students with his previous high school, and performing in the Energy City Voices, a show choir group at Gillette College. Jaylen is looking to pursue a degree in vocal performance/theatre in the coming years.

ITTS Liason: Zachary Schneider (Natrona High School)
Zach Schneider is the theatre director for Natrona County High School and has been a member of the Casper theatre community for over 20 years. Graduating from Natrona in 1994, Zach earned his A.A. from Casper College as a performance major, has a B.A. in Communication and a B.A. in Language Arts Secondary Education from the University of Wyoming, and was granted his M.A. in Theatre Education from the University of Northern Colorado. As past president of the WEST Board of Directors, current troupe director of International Thespian Society Troupe No. 1, and the director of Wyoming Thespians, he is committed and passionate about educational theatre and expanding opportunities for Wyoming students on and off stage.

Click below to access past WEST Membership meeting minutes: