Every year, Thespians compete in a series of contests across multiple levels, and the junior high division of the society kicked off their season with the Thespian District 12 Festival Nov. 9. Students were able to perform their individual musical and acting events, as well as perform for judges the junior high one act, “When Bad Things Happen to Good Actors.”
Thespians were able to compete with smaller, individual acts like solos, monologues and improvisation. “I’m personally nervous on behalf of the students,” said Ms. Alyssa Fantel, the main advisor for the Jr. Thespians club. “The district festival is one, very long day.”
This year, students arrived around 8 a.m. and competed all day until 4 p.m. Later in the evening, the top placing students from the individual competitions that day, specifically those with the rating of Honorable Mention and Critic’s Choice, were all recognized during the festival’s closing ceremony.
The junior high students walked away with 23 individual Superior awards, five individual Excellent awards, two Honorable Mentions, as well as seven Critic’s Choice awards, which are awarded to the best performances each panel of judges sees that day.
Ms. Fantel and her club will now have the chance to select a few students to travel to Orlando to compete at the state level. This much larger festival also includes workshops and live acts chosen from across the state, giving students the opportunity to learn more about performing arts. At these conventions, Ms. Fantel said, “[Our students] get to meet other people from different schools all interested in the same things. Everyone’s always practicing in these different corridors and hallways and fields … everyone’s there for the same reason.”
But most importantly, “The kids get to have these days dedicated to the things they really love doing,” she said.
Here is the list of events which have been chosen to perform at States February 17-20:
| Solo Musical | Robert Curtis | I Love Betsy |
| Sm. Group Musical | Robert Curtis, Fabiola Velez, Leeza Mangeym | Easy Street |
| Duet Musical | Ella Delgado, Lulli Krauss | The Apple Doesn’t Fall Very Far From The Tree |
| Duet Musical | Jojo Wendelin, Maia Frauenberger | The End of the line |
| Duet Scene | Maddie Zhuravel, Maya Chaplik | Antigone Now |
| Duet Scene | Eva Damask, Maria Izabela Diculescu | It’s Vaudeville |
| Improv | Maia Frauenberger, Arabella Spearing | N/A |
| Costume Design | Antonia Fierro Peralta | Annie |
| Costume Design | Paloma Arrigui Villarreal | Great Gatsby |
| Ensemble Acting | Brianna Brennan, Emily Crusemire, Shreya Joshi | Disruption: A Pandemic Decalogue |
Madeline Zhuravel (8th) and Maya Chaplik (7th) perform their acting duet at the district festival. (Photo/Alyssa Fantel)
Seventh graders Ella Colarte Delgado and Luisa Krauss accept their Honorable Mention award. Award-winning performances are always shown on stage at the closing ceremony. “[The festival] is chaotic,” says Fantel, “but it’s also very rewarding.” (Photo/Marisol Delgado)
Maia Frauenberger, Amanda Pippin, Josephine Wendelin, and Arabella Spearing celebrate outside at the district festival after receiving their scores. (Photo/Alyssa Fantel)
All ratings are revealed around 4 p.m. at the end of the festival. A closing ceremony is also held in the evening. (Video/Marisol Delgado)
The Junior Thespians gather for a group photo at the district festival. “We always try to support each other as a Troupe,” says Fantel. (Photo/Alyssa Fantel)
While they were not performing, thespians waited outside of the campus on the campus field, practicing. (Photos/Marisol Delgado)
