By Dalton Montgomery
Local Elementary School teacher and Weiser Resident Victoria (Tori) Thomas has a long history of performance. Between her professional career as an elementary school music teacher and the performance studio that she runs at nights Mrs. Thomas has dedicated much of her life to the performing arts. This dedication has recently led to Mrs. Thomas being offered the lead role in Opera Idaho’s performance of Cinderella.
Thomas has worked with Opera Idaho for many years but this is her first leading role with the company. Joining the company some five years ago, Thomas’s first on-stage debut with the company was just three years ago in Hansel and Gretel and has been working both on the stage and behind the scenes ever-since.
This performance of Cinderella by Opera Idaho is actually scheduled for many schools around the valley as an educational outreach program. Opera Idaho hopes to use these performances to attract more students to the study of theater and opera, a task that Mrs. Thomas is well equipped for. As has been previously mentioned, not only does Mrs. Thomas teach elementary music, she also is the founder of the “Victoria Arriero-Thomas Studio” (or VATS) which introduces and teaches students about stagecraft and the arts here in Weiser. VAS sees around 120 students per year here in Weiser many of which compete at the state level in dramatic competitions.
Cinderella is set to debut Sept. 19th and will travel for 2 weeks performing at a variety of schools across the state. Even now the performers gather in Boise regularly to perfect their performance. Between this performance, her work in Weiser’s schools, and her continued dedication to the dramatic arts in her studio, you would be hard pressed to find a better example of the arts at work in Weiser.
