Troupe #5996 Excels at Colorado’s Thespian Conference

Jori O'Grady

January 16, 2018

Grandview’s thespian troupe #5996 left school midday to attend the Colorado Thespian Conference. From December 7th to 9th the troupe was downtown competing for national status, auditioning for colleges, and watching other high schoolers put on shows. There was a plentiful range of workshops they participated in, from acting and musical classes, improv, and Shakespeare, to visual effects and makeup, swing dancing, Hamilton choreography to playwriting.

The Bravo Entertainers competed in the improv showdown Saturday, cracking up the audience with improv, contrasting the one act play they performed on Friday, Juvie, that told the disturbing and bleak tales of how the teenagers found themselves thrown to the juvenile delinquent center.

Technicians had the opportunity to interview with Technical Theatre teacher, Mrs. Dykstra, prior to the conference, to earn a highly competitive place backstage, in which they worked on the technical aspect of the shows put on. Two additions students were selected to “shadow” Dykstra, their peers, and professional technicians, while lending hand to the theater in which Thescon took place.

Many of the thespians competed in an individual acting event in hopes to qualify for The National Thespian Conference. They had a chance to compete in the categories of Musical Theatre, Duet Acting, Solo Acting, or Technical Theatre. Grandview broke last year’s record of 19 qualifiers for nationals with 28 students qualifying this year.