The Fort Scott High School Thespian Troupe #7365 brought home several high honors from the KS State Thespian Festival this weekend.
The troupe traveled to Wichita on Jan. 4-6 for the annual festival with nearly 2,000 other Kansas Thespians. Of the thirty students who attended, half of them also competed in individual Thespy events. Two students received Superior ratings on their events, qualifying them to compete at the International Thespian Festival in June. Senior Regen Wells qualified for the third year in a row in the Monologue category and sophomore Junie Fisher qualified in the Musical Solo division. Ten other entries received Excellent ratings on their Thespys.
The troupe received the Gold Honor Troupe Award which is the highest honor a troupe can receive at Festival. FSHS also had a team qualify to compete in the finals of the Competitive Improv event.
The FSHS Advanced Drama class competed with the one-act play entitled “I Quit! A Guide to Quitting Your Job in Style” directed by senior Josiah Eisenbrandt. The troupe also competed in the Lobby Display category by creating a display featuring the Festival theme “Kansas Thespians are One of a Kind” based on the musical Six.
FSHS Thespian President Lexi Hill, a senior, was one of only 10 students in the state to win a KS Thespian college scholarship for Technical Theatre. She also auditioned for all of the colleges in attendance at the Festival and had call-backs from 21 colleges for Technical Theatre and thirteen colleges for her Acting audition.
In addition to competing, students attended workshops from professionals in the theatre industry from across the country. They also attended the best high school musicals and plays in the state that were invited to perform at the Festival.
The troupe, directed by FSHS Theatre teacher Angie Bin, is currently in rehearsals for the dark comedy “Arsenic and Old Lace.” Performances are Feb. 8-10 in the FSHS Auditorium. More information on Troupe #7365 can be found on the Fort Scott High School Thespians Facebook page.
Left to right: Junie Fisher and Regen Wells receive Superior ratings on their Thespy events at the KS State Thespian Festival qualifying them to compete at the International Thespian Festival in June.