TIFFIN, Ohio — A student-run high school theatre troupe based at Tiffin’s Ritz Theatre took top honors at Ohio’s statewide youth theatre festival Saturday, and its production is headed to the state stage over Labor Day weekend.

The Ritz Teen Thespian Guild performed a 30-minute excerpt of Dracula: The Vampire Play, Tim Kelly’s stage adaptation of the Bram Stoker novel, at the 17th annual Ohio Community Theatre Association Jr. Festival on July 25 at the Bellevue Society for the Arts, 205 Maple St. in Bellevue.

OCTA designated the Tiffin production its invitee to the association’s state conference, held Sept. 4 through 6 at the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center in Lima. Amil Tellers of Dramatics/Encore Theatre’s 8 Minutes Left was named alternate. Fremont Community Teen Theatre also performed at the festival, presenting Guys & Dolls. The Ritz Theatre announced the result as the 2026 OCTA Jr. State Champion.

Adjudicators recognized seven awards tied to the Tiffin production:

  • Excellence in Ensemble — the cast

  • Excellence in Direction — Jeff Stockner

  • Excellence in Set Design — Jim Cook

  • Outstanding in Acting — Esme Hummel-Sass as Dracula

  • Excellence in Acting — CoryAnna Martin as Professor Van Helsing

  • Excellence in Acting — Silas Newland as Renfield

  • Merit in Acting — Remington Donna as Grimm

Eve Knisely of the Tiffin cast received the festival’s Outstanding Ensemblist award. Hummel-Sass and Newland were also named to the six-member all-star cast drawn from across the festival.

“The Ritz Theatre is incredibly proud of this talented group of students and the dedicated production team,” Executive Director Michael Strong said in the announcement. “Their commitment, creativity and countless hours of hard work resulted in an outstanding performance that represented our community with excellence on the state stage. This championship is a testament to what these young artists can accomplish when given the opportunity to learn, collaborate and shine.”

The guild began in 2004 as the Tiffin Area High School Players, formed as school districts trimmed arts funding and non-musical productions in particular. Membership has since grown to more than 50 area high school students each year. The group is autonomous — students choose the play, circulate audition notices and select a director — and is advised by Ritz Education Director Mika Gibson. It stages one production each fall; the full run of Dracula: The Vampire Play played the Ritz on Nov. 21, 22 and 23, 2025.

The cast included CoryAnna Martin as Professor Van Helsing, Cooper Ganni as Dr. Quincy, Esme Hummel-Sass as Dracula, Lily Hutchinson as Mrs. Fern, Tyson McCullar as Arthur Holmwood, Ruby Maynard as Mrs. Westenra, Kirsten King as Lucy Westenra, Alivia Miller as Mina, Bryleigh Carter as Flora, Eve Knisely as Miss Anya, Mariah White as Nurse Cassidy, Remington Donna as Grimm, Silas Newland as Renfield, and Brayden Miklovic, Kay Carter Banks and Hailey Work as the vampire wives.

Jeff Stockner directed, with Mika Gibson as assistant director and costume and makeup designer, Brady King as stage manager, and Jim Cook and Gibson on set design.

OCTA, formed in 1953, serves more than 100 member theatres across eight Ohio regions and holds regional excerpt festivals each summer leading into its Labor Day weekend state conference. The Jr. festival is open to performers 18 and younger.

The Ritz, at 30 S. Washington St. in downtown Tiffin, hosts more than 60 events a year. The theatre launched a $1 million capital campaign in May ahead of its December 2028 centennial and released its 2026–27 season lineup in June.