May Niles represented Bridgewater Raritan High School’s Thespian Honor Society Troupe 5154.

May Niles' role as a performer on stage may one day lead to her being a director on stage.

Niles, a senior at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, was rewarded for her acting when she performed in the New Jersey State Thespian All-State Show over the weekend of January 18-19.

The New Jersey State Thespian Festival was held over that weekend at Washington Township High School, where Niles represented Bridgewater Raritan High School’s Thespian Honor Society Troupe 5154.

She performed alongside 22 students from various high schools throughout New Jersey in the musical Spring Awakening.

According to Heather Diaforli-Day, the Theater and Music Teacher and the Director of the Theatre Arts program at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, the show is a coming-of-age rock musical with music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater.

How did Niles land in this elite cast of fellow scholastic Thespian Honor Society performers?

“I auditioned in January of 2024, and I was told in February that I made it to the show,” Niles explained. “We then rehearsed all summer.”

She acted in the ensemble during the musical in front of an audience that included many acting associates who made the trip to the high school located in Gloucester County.

Ms. Day was accompanied at the New Jersey State Thespian Festival by Olivia Matko, who is the Drama Club and Musical Advisor as well as the 7th GradeTheater Arts Teacher at the Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School, and 20 of Niles’ high school colleagues in the Thespian Honor Society Troupe 5154.

“I want to be a drama teacher,” Niles revealed during a recent rehearsal in the high school auditorium for the Spring Musical Footloose. “ I want to major in Education and have a minor in Theater.”

During her three years in the Thespian Honor Society, she performed in numerous plays and musicals at the high school. Her most recent performance was brilliantly portraying Grace Frayer, one of the leading characters in the high school’s hit production of Radium Girls this past December. She will again be center stage in Footloose.

Ms. Diaforli-Day, with assistance from Ms. Matko, will serve as the Director for Footloose, which will be presented in the high school auditorium from April 3-5.

While she is undecided about what college she will attend, Niles hopes that her performance in the New Jersey State Thespian All-State Show will win her and her fellow cast members a ticket to the International Thespian Festival at Indiana University at the end of June.

“We will hear if we did make it,” Niles said.

“We are so proud of May. She approached this performance (Spring Awakening) as she always does, with great commitment, poise, and unwavering dedication,” Ms. Diaforli-Day said.

“She proudly represented Bridgewater-Raritan High School, Bridgewater-Raritan Theatre Arts, and the Thespian Honor Society Troupe 5154!”

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