FSHS Thespians Perform at International Thespian Festival
A group of Fort Scott High School Thespians spent last week immersed in theatre performance and education at the International Thespian Festival (ITF) at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
Eleven students attended the festival June 24 through 30 with Thespian Troupe Director Angie Bin and parent sponsor Amy Labbe.
Recent FSHS graduate Hunter Adamson performed a monologue as an individual event and received a Superior medal for her highly ranked performance. Adamson qualified for ITF by receiving a Superior rating at the KS Thespian Festival in January.
Mesa Jones, who will be a senior, performed for an audience of 4,500 in the KS All-State Musical “Bring It On!” Jones auditioned for the show last summer and performed at the KS Thespian Festival in January. The musical then qualified to perform at ITF and Jones traveled to Kansas City on June 21 for brush-up rehearsals and a performance in preparation for the ITF performance last Tuesday. Jones also qualified at state to perform her musical solo as an individual event at ITF last week.
Addy Labbe, also an upcoming senior, and Jones auditioned for theatre programs in colleges all across the United States by performing a 90-second musical solo selection. Jones also participated in a college dance audition. Both students received call-backs from many colleges and spent several days interviewing with theatre program representatives from a variety of schools.
Throughout the week, students attended numerous workshops on a wide variety of subjects. Some favorites included classes on clowning, character development, juggling, playwrighting, costuming and set design, and stage combat.
Many of the workshops were taught by professional Broadway and television actors and designers and professional playwrights.
Three FSHS students participated in a special Leadership workshop including Adamson, a 2018 State Thespian Officer; Jones, a current State Thespian Officer; and upcoming junior Ashanti Green, a State Thespian Representative.
The thespians also watched multiple productions each day including musicals, plays, one-act plays, and individual events. Some highlights included seeing multiple shows from Kansas schools with actors that the FSHS students have become friends with over the years. In all, KS Thespians performed three mainstage shows, an opening show number, and had two students who served as International Thespian Officers this year, and two KS Thespians elected as international officers for next year.
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