The Palo Alto High School Thespian Troupe is celebrating its successes at the annual California State Thespian Conference in Ontario, Calif. from April 8 to April 10: all-state awards, medals of excellence and qualifications to compete in the international thespian conference.
According to Kathleen Woods, theater and stage tech teacher, the California State Thespian Conference is a three-day event in which around 850 students participate in competitions, workshops, scholarship opportunities, performances, and an all-state show. Students are given the opportunity to compete in individual events, one act competitions, improvisation, and stage tech.
Paly’s Theater Troupe, a group of 10 stage technicians and performers, attended the conference on the first weekend of Spring Break.
According to Woods, junior Kathyrn Austin, senior Melanie Brenton, sophomore Ethan Cohen, junior Heather Gaya, and freshman Henry Wilen were chosen to be a part of the all-state crew for scene building, assistant stage managing, scene building, audio and lighting, respectively.
Gaya and Wilen each took home medals of excellence for their work in the all-state crew. Wilen was also awarded 2nd place in the Stage Tech Challenge, a competition separate from the conference.
Junior Grace Barry won an excellence in design for her sweatshirt design for Paly’s showing of Our Town earlier this year.
Finally, Gaya and Brenton were given the top rating of superior for the individual event at the conference, allowing them to attend the International Thespian Conference in June in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Woods said that though the troupe has no intentions to go to the International Thespian Conference, she was very proud of all the students who went.
“Numerous Paly students won awards and earned recognition by earning superior ratings and being selected for the All State crew, and all the students took full advantage of the opportunities offered at the conference,” Woods said. “They were professional and enthusiastic.”
Woods hopes that next year more students will attend the conference and take more advantage of the great opportunities at the conference.
“I would love to see students apply for the scholarships that are available and possibly earn some of those,” Woods said.
Gaya, one of the participants, said that she enjoyed the atmosphere of the conference and was glad to know that there were many people who enjoyed theater as much as she did.
“Sometimes it seems like only a small number of people are interested in theater, but going to this event showed me that I’m not alone,” Gaya said. “It was just great to be a part of all that energy.”
Paly students had other fun experiences besides the competition. According to Gaya, the students got to meet many theater professionals, including Lowell Olcott, who designs the ETC lighting boards and does lighting for the popular show, Glee.