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And the award goes to...
Taunya Page admits that she never saw it coming.
Wanting to make her mark as an English teacher, she originally thought her duties would focus solely on encouraging her students to appreciate the finer points of grammar and classic literature.
Fate, it seems, had other plans.
When the school district hired her to teach English at Mountain Home High School more than 12 years ago, it came with a few strings attached. The district also needed her to head the school's drama department. Page admits that taking on those additional classes were well outside of her comfort zone as a new teacher.
"I never did drama as a child. I was very shy," she said.
However, those initial reservations would lead her to take those basic acting classes and turn them into one of the state's largest theatrics departments. Recently, the Idaho Speech Arts Association recognized her commitment to foster excellence in her students by naming her the state's top drama teacher of the year.
Looking back, Page admits that her quest to build an award-winning theatrics company was no easy challenge. It meant having to pretty much learn everything from scratch.
Her first obstacle was learning the ropes and what to expect from her new theatrics students. She admits there were times when those challenges were almost overwhelming.
"I think I cried every day for about three years," she said. "(Drama) is a special thing, and when you don't know anything about it... it's hard to get thrown into a program, especially one that was very successful."
But she was determined to overcome that challenge. To get started, she went back to school during the summer break where she attended a Shakespearian workshop and completed a college-level theatrics course. In time, she advanced her knowledge of community theater when she attended Central Washington University and earned her master's degree in theater production.
There's a stark contrast between teaching literature and drama, she said. Students tend to resist the urge to read and interpret literary classics. However, those same teens are all too eager to pick up a script and learn their lines.
Life on the stage was something that Page quickly started to enjoy.
"I fell in love with drama as soon as I started producing shows and working with the kids that were so excited to be there," she said.
But that love affair had a rocky start. She still remembers the first performance -- a retelling of the Frank Capra holiday classic, "It's A Wonderful Life."
"I didn't do it justice in any sort of way. It was horrible," she said. While those in the audience probably never noticed the chaos happening backstage, it was a major learning experience for Page.
Despite the years of experience she's gained since that first awkward show, she remains her own worst critic.
"You always reflect on what you could've done better," she said. "In some of my later productions, I'm saying, 'I could've fixed this or that.' "
Her favorite show over the years was "Seussical Jr." -- a retelling of stories from the classic children's books written by Dr. Seuss. It was also her first experience dealing with a musical.
The singing requirements represented "a whole other ball game" in terms of challenges. Despite the obstacles, the students did a fantastic job, she said.
"The kids were amazing and their confidence levels were great," Page added. "It was our biggest selling show at the time, and the audience just packed in to see it."
As her knowledge of theater continued to grow, Page wanted to expand the course curriculum to include backstage production.
"It's a lot of work in the drama world," she said. "We do a lot of things backstage that don't deal just with actors, so I wanted to expand the drama program to include backstage."
At the time, Page served as the drama department's director and producer in addition to the set and costume designer. The responsibilities of putting on a show in addition to preparing lesson plans and grading papers meant that her average school day didn't end until after midnight.
Initially, the number of English teachers at the high school was limited, and her request to start the backstage class was denied.
However, that changed four years ago when the school district moved the ninth grade classrooms into the high school. Gaining additional English teachers during the move from the junior high school, the high school gained the flexibility needed to expand the drama department.
"The backstage classes saved me," she said. "I was doing everything at home or with four or five kids that would volunteer after school."
Adding the class made a huge difference in the drama department, she said.
"We went from 75 kids to 150 kids, so it doubled their interest in theater."
Sometimes, life behind the stage is more of a draw for these teens, who are more interested in designing, building and painting stage sets and props or dealing with lighting and sound, she said. For others, it's a chance to be part of a major school project without having to deal with "stage fright."
"It's for the kids who don't want to be actors," she said.
Later, Page was also able to add in a costume design class to the curriculum, which took an additional burden off the teacher and her students.
Just like their acting counterparts, the backstage students and costume designers feel sense of pride and ownership in their work. During each show, they'll comment to their parents, saying they were the ones that made a particular costume, stage set or prop.
"They feel that it's their show along with the actors," Page said.
Normally, the drama department brings four shows to the stage each school year. Often, she'll try to arrange one musical each season.
That proved problematic earlier this year when she had a casting call for their production of the Broadway hit, "Grease." While she had enough female actors for the play, she had just three boys audition.
It was the first time in 12 years that she had ever had to cancel a show.
But that was the exception versus the norm. Typically, her students remain motivated to put on a great show.
"They come here excited about it and they want to try something new," she said.
In fact, many of the students that enroll in the Encore Company will remain with the program for two or more years.
"This is their thing," she said. "It's like a football game to them. They put as much work into it as any other sport or activity."
Watching these aspiring actors and actresses grow is an equally rewarding experience, Page added. She remembered one very shy student who joined the theater group during her freshman year.
"She could hardly stand in front of the class; she was so shy and nervous and self conscious," she said.
But over the next two years, that teen "just blossomed" as her self confidence and stage presence grew, Page said.
It's the same with her other students, who set and achieve their own goals as they explore the world of theater.
"To be on stage and watching them grow as a person is amazing to me," Page said.