Preparation to Performance: Thespians and Their Journeys to States

By: Gracie Guy ’19

Since Touring Company’s closing of their play, You Can’t Take it With You, theatre students have been diligently working in preparation for the Florida State Thespian Festival, another opportunity to perform for others and improve their craft.

Before students step foot in Tampa to represent Episcopal and its amazing theatre program, students first start to the road to recovery (of their scenes). Oftentimes they must relearn lines and blocking as well as create new  props and change technical cues before they are able to do a full run through of their pieces. The cast members taking part in Episcopal’s one act, The Bible in 30 Minutes or Less, are working with extreme determination and creativity to revive one of the top three one acts from the One Act District Festival. Many students have sacrificed countless lunch periods and after school hours to ensure success at the competition. After that, it’s time to hit the road. Look out, Tampa: Episcopal’s coming.

Once in Tampa, students will immediately embark on their artistic journey by attending opening ceremonies, where they will have the pleasure of seeing, hearing and breathing performance art at its finest. The one-act students will showcase their work that evening as well. That night, students will attend one of the winning plays of the district competition and will return to the hotel for a brief discussion and a good night’s rest in preparation for the days ahead.

Theatre students will start off their day with eye-opening workshops and inspiring performances from from an array of schools from all over the state. From choreography to directing classes to important information on college auditions, there is truly a theatrical aspect for every student to learn about; each workshop is an opportunity to expand a student’s horizon. Episcopal will be competing in multiple categories, including college monologue auditions, duet acting, ensemble acting, playwriting and solo musical. With hopes of receiving a superior, students anxiously wait until the end of the day of their performance to receive scoring as well as words of advice from the judges.

The Florida State Thespian Festival will not only be a period of learning through workshops, judges and other performers, but also a time for students to break out of their shells and do what they love in another encouraging environment. To all the students performing and attending the competition… Good luck, and have fun!

Image courtesy of Jessica Hogan ’19.