Wichita, Kansas
Linda Webb championed the arts throughout her thirty-six-year career in theatre education. She taught at eight different schools and chartered and nurtured several Thespian troupes. She coordinated a Theatre Advocacy Day through the Kansas House of Representatives, and every year she ensures that Kansas is represented at National Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C.
Ms. Webb successfully fought to prevent elimination of theatre and arts programs in her community. Upon hearing that a school in her district was going to lose its theatre program, she applied for a transfer to that school. She knew the importance of having a theatre program and drama classes available for all students in her district, and to accomplish this she accepted a salary cut and undertook the challenge of resurrecting the program. Five years later, the students in her program at Wichita High School Northwest now win scholarships and honor awards at the Kansas Thespian conference.
Ms. Webb assumed the Kansas chapter director position in 1999 at a time when the chapter was facing major challenges, especially regarding its annual conference and chapter leadership. The state student board she initiated got students involved with the preparations for the chapter conference. She also established a regional troupe directors’ board and increased the amount of money available for scholarships.
As Kansas chapter director, Ms. Webb launched the food drive that has become the national Trick or Treat so Kids Can Eat (TOTS Eat) program. Thespian troupes within the state of Kansas collected food on Halloween for local charities. The success of the program caught the attention of the EdTA home office, and the national incarnation of TOTS Eat debuted in 2004.
For these and many other achievements, Ms. Webb was inducted into Kansas Thespians Hall of Fame in 2005.
