While the Manhattan High Thespians are often known for their live performances, they have taken time out of their busy schedule to help the community. On Friday Thespian Troupe #941 will be putting on their Trick or Treat so Kids Can Eat event to gather donations for the Flint Hills Breadbasket.

Thespians will take to the streets of Manhattan, going door-to-door to ask for canned food donations. To make it more fun for participants, they all dress up in costumes.

“My favorite part is planning the costumes because I really love doing TOTSKCE,” Thespian Points Recorder Mckayla Alberto, senior, said.

Many Thespians look forward to the event each year and are excited to see how many donations they will receive.

“We get lots of pounds of food every year, and that’s always been really gratifying,” Thespian Vice President Grace Franke, senior, said. “It’s fun for a cause.”

TOTSKCE, more widely known among other troupes as TOTS Eat, is an event that is used by troupes nationwide in an effort to raise money for local organizations. While the event is fun for Thespians who participate, Troupe #941 stresses that it is also for a worthwhile cause.

“With all the fun and games and all the costumes and stuff, it’s a great way to convince people to do it,” Thespian State Rep Nicole Savage, sophomore, said. “But the most important part about it is that we’re gathering food for people who don’t always have food to feed themselves.”

According to Savage, the Thespian Board has been planning the event since their summer retreat in August. Now that TOTSKCE is less than a week away, they are putting the finishing touches on plans and getting their costumes ready.

One of their main goals this year is to get even more food than they did last year, when they had a very successful outcome.

“I really hope we get a lot more [food] this year so like, [we] just keep… adding more and more,” Alberto said.

The Thespian Troupe highly encourages all club members to participate so that they can have their most successful year yet while helping those in the community who need it the most.

“If we can encourage as many Thespians as we can to come and help out with it, that’s great, because then they’re all doing service and we’re going to [serve] together and I think that’s a great goal,” Savage said. “…we’ll be able to show our community how much we care, which I think is important.”