Difference Maker: Edwardsville High Theater Director Ashley Melton Honored by SIUE

The Theater and Dance Hall of Fame was established “to recognize individuals whose contributions, achievements, and impact have helped shape and elevate our field,” Voumard wrote. She said the recipients’ “career paths and accomplishments” made them “an exceptional choice for this inaugural recognition.”

Ashley Melton is also a "Difference Maker" in the Edwardsville community with her efforts with high school students, and each year, she helps shape future lives with her lasting work.

Melton, who serves as theater teacher and director at Edwardsville High School, began her career as an arts educator at Central Visual Performing Arts High School, where she was a theater teacher and director from 2014 to 2017. In 2017, she moved to Edwardsville High School, where she is also the sponsor of Thespian Troupe 1534.

Voumard said that Melton’s program is “award-winning and recognized annually at the Ken Page Awards for Outstanding Production, Choreography, Direction, and more,” and that her students and productions are “regularly selected to present at the Illinois State Theater Festival.”

Under Melton’s direction, the Edwardsville High School drama program has “over 150 active members” and produces “two full-length productions, four one-act productions, and four community performance projects annually,” Voumard said.

Voumard also said Melton has remained connected to SIUE by serving as Cougar Theater Camp director since 2014, and that she invites theater education majors into her classroom each year for student teaching experience.

Voumard noted Melton was last seen on the SIUE stage in 2016 as Tracy Turnblad in “Hairspray.”

If you have a Difference Makers idea, e-mail news@riverbender.com or text (618) 623-5930.

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