Walkersville Theater Troupe Soars at Maryland Thespian Festival
by Becky Brown
This past weekend Walkersville’s very own Thespian Troupe #6465 competed at the Maryland Thespian Festival at Tuscarora High School.
With more than 30 schools competing, Walkersville brought home many awards and accomplishments. The International Thespian Festival is one the theatre students all over Maryland look forward to every year. There are competing One Act productions, Individual competitions, called an Individual Event, guest speakers, workshops, and scholarship opportunities.
Junior Jacob Keith said, “It was fantastic. It was really nice meeting the other schools and thespian troupes”
The day began on Friday at 8am as schools began to arrive at the festival. Nerves ran high as our own troupe began to prepare for their show, the first of the day in the Black Box theatre. This is a Test, the comedic one act play by Stephen Gregg is about a student (Senior Chris Copen) struggling to take a test he didn’t study for. This show is very relatable, and is the epitome of what goes through a student’s head during an actual exam. Everything starts to go wrong, and madness ensues. The hilarious comedy put Walkersville in the top three for best pacing of a show, and Senior’s Copen and Becky Brown both won best actor and actress for our school.
The students saw a wide range of shows from other schools across Maryland, and was a wonderful chance to see all different styles of theatre. They were also able to take theatre workshops taught by college professors and professionals in the theatre world. There was everything from broadway dance workshops, sketch comedy, singing for actors, mask making, and how to pick the right college.
One of the best parts of festival are the friendships made throughout the weekend. Theatre kids are surrounded by other students with the exact same interests. Everyone knows that if you’re in theatre, you’re pretty outgoing, so you can only imagine the amount of bonds that were formed during the short time. The amount of support shown throughout the festival was absolutely amazing.
Sophomore Deirdre Hall said, “It was really fun. There was so much energy and enthusiasm. It was a really great experience.”
Saturday began bright and early as a few students prepared for their scholarship auditions, and individual solo competitions. Juniors Megan McGee and Rachel Wilson both sang musical theatre solos, and Seniors Brown and Claire Raimist both auditioned for a chance at a scholarship.
When asked about her solo, Mcgee said, “Well it was very nerve racking but as soon as I got into the room I just sang my song and it was a lot of fun. It was really interesting performing in front of judges,”
Not only did Walkersville bring home many awards, but they were also a finalist in the trash costume contest, a fun event that took place on both Friday and Saturday. The theme was fairytales and a few students competed, winning us second place. We also competed in the Tech Olympics, a technical theatre series of events. Walkersville took top three in the spotlight focus challenge thanks to sophomore Emilia Lawler.
Senior Raimist said, “I’m very proud of all of Walkersville’s accomplishments”
Overall, the Maryland State Thespian Festival was a great experience for all students that attended, and we will definitely be looking forward to next year.
