The Penn State Thespian Society held its annual benefit concert on Sunday to raise money for the Centre County AIDS Resource, which raises funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS.

Since the spring of 2002, the Thespian Society has performed an annual cabaret. The event brings light to an issue that is slowly becoming less mainstream. This year, it chose a wide array of musical and dance numbers inspired by Broadway shows to bring MasquerAIDS to life.

This year’s theme was “Tell Your Tale,” which was chosen by MasquerAIDS chairs Angelina Smith and Charlie Plante. MAIDS featured a variety of songs, dances, and acting performances, all surrounded by the central theme of telling your own story.

“We wanted to pick something that wasn’t only fun, but also something the audience could connect with,” Smith, the director, and co-MasquerAIDS chair, said. “The goal with choosing songs that tell stories was to make sure each one was chosen with purpose and meaning.”

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The 2023 MAIDS setlist included mainstream songs including “Enchanted” by Taylor Swift and “Eleanor Rigby” by the Beatles. It also featured songs straight from the theatre such as “Giants in the Sky” from the musical “Into the Woods” and “Song of the King” from the musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

The Thespian Society took to the stage to perform each song with detailed choreography. Just before intermission, the Thespian Society performed its annual dance battle. This year’s theme was heroes vs. villains. The heroes took had a fully choreographed number from “Mulan” with “I’ll Make a Man Out of You.” Just as the heroes finished their performance, the villains ran from the audience, on to the stage. The crowd cheered as “Ways to be Wicked” from “Descendants” played over the speakers.

Votes for the best performance were tallied during intermission and audience members were given the chance to donate. The villains were victorious.

After intermission, Plante, the co-MasquerAIDS chair, introduced Wes Chicko. Chicko is the HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS) coordinator, outreach manager, practice manager, and testing specialist at Centre County AIDS Resource. Chicko thanked the Thespian Society for the benefit concert and emphasized the importance of MAIDS in destigmatizing HIV and AIDS.

As of recently, Centre County AIDS Resource had to pause its STI and treatment program due to reduced funding from the Pennsylvania state government.

“This concert allows us to make ends meet when budgets are cut,” Chicko said.

With MAIDS, Centre County AIDS Resource is able to serve the community and help citizens receive treatment and resources for their diagnosis.

The MAIDS concert is the end of the fundraising period for the year. All donations are totaled from fundraisers, ticket sales, and donations. This year, The Penn State Thespian Society raised over $2,000 for Centre County AIDS Resource.

Additionally, a GoFundMe is set up for supporters who wish to contribute to the cause.