Congratulations to Lauren Smith, who is the recipient of the PORTA Thespians award for 2020! The PORTA Thespian award is voted on by directors and peers, and it is an honored tradition at PORTA. This spring, Lauren would have played the role of Mother Abbess in βThe Sound of Music.β Past roles include: Nerd in school for nerds, ancestor in The Addams Family, stage manager and student director for A Christmas Carol; A Live Radio Play, Marge in Bye-Bye Birdie, Student Director for Radium Girls and Erzulie the goddess of love in Once On This Island. Lauren is not only a joy to work with on stage, but she is also always willing to stay after, come early, or give up her study hall to help out with anything she can. Her beautiful voice and calm presence will be missed next year, but we look forward to seeing her continue to do great things!