After 14 weeks of rehearsing and planning, the Acting Competition class brought their performances to Lyman High School to share them with schools all over the area in a three-day competition.
The District 3 International Thespians District Festival took place on Nov. 14, 15 and 16, and gave students the opportunity to showcase their projects while also learning from and enjoying performances by other schools. On Thursday and Friday, the groups watched and performed one-acts, brief plays consisting usually of a single storyline and only a few scenes. Hagerty’s class chose to perform a pantomime called “Emotional Baggage,” which meant that they performed the entire show silently, using only gestures to convey meaning.
“The story was that everyone has baggage, but it’s physical baggage,” one-act stage manager Isabel Breitsprecher said. “And then there’s this one person that comes in who can put down their baggage because they know how to cope with it. Their baggage is light and free, and she tries to get the rest of them to be able to let go of their baggage, but they just can’t.”
The one-act received an award for Best Sound and an Honorable Mention for playwriting and pantomime.
“For me individually, it meant a lot because we got [ranked] Superior in the tech side of our one-act,” Breitsprecher said. “As stage manager, I was in charge of the tech aspect, so it showed that I was able to do good.”
On Saturday, the students divided up into smaller groups to perform in the “thespies,” competitions that allowed them to display their talents in individual categories.
Junior Jahmari Abbott worked on the sound for the one-act, participated in the large group, tap performances and a duet. His duet was ranked Excellent, as was the large group competition, and the troupe’s tap choreography received a Superior, the highest possible ranking.
“I really loved [the festival],” Abbott said. “I wish it wasn’t over, because I really enjoyed being there and performing, meeting all the other thespians. It was a really fun time for me.”
Breitsprecher also joined in the large group performance and acted in a duet and ensemble scene.
The state competition will take place in 2025 over Spring Break. Madalena Agosto, Isabella Aguayo, Sophia McLaughlin, Sabrina Sego and Lana Corollo will take their Small Group performance there, but any students who participated in the District Festival can participate in the opening number if they so choose.
“We did a really good job this time,” Breitsprecher said. “But because we still got [some] Excellents and not Superiors, it still means that we can improve and work on things. But it does mean that we are taking things to States.”
