The Fort Scott High School Thespian Troupe #7365 brought home a number of honors from the 2026 Kansas Thespian Festival (KTF).
Students attended the festival with nearly 2,000 other students from across the state on Jan. 8-10 at the Century II Performing Arts and Convention Center in Wichita.
Sixteen students performed in the Thespy individual events competition with a record number of FSHS students receiving Superior ratings and qualifying to compete at the International Thespian Festival at Indiana University on June 21-26. Superior achievers include senior Levi Fairchild in both Duet Acting and Musical Solo, senior Junie Fisher – Musical Solo, senior Lily Brown – Short Film, senior Grace Walker – Stage Management, junior Ava Johnson – Solo Acting, junior Clark Uttinger – Duet Acting, and sophomore Gianna Gorman – Musical Solo.
“Kansas Thespian Festival has always been so fun and is always a great reminder of why I love theater,” Fisher said. “This year’s festival was truly a great way to close out my senior year!”
The troupe received the Gold Honor Troupe Award, the highest level of achievement for Thespian troupes in Kansas, based on performances, community, outreach, advocacy, and service from the past school year.
The Advanced Drama class performed the one-act play “When Bad Things Happen to Good Actors” by Ian McWethy and Jason Pizzarello. The troupe also presented a Lobby Display featuring photos and events from the past school year.
FSHS State Thespian Festival Board Members, senior Chris Newman and Juniors Ava Johnson and Allie Wards helped organize the festival as leaders.
“KTF taught me, challenged me, and reminded me why theatre matters so much to me. It’s not just something I love to do, it’s something that’s continuously changing my life,” said Wards.
FSHS Theatre Director Angie Bin taught a workshop entitled “From Burnout to Balance: Wellness for Theatre Teachers” and Bin as well as Assistant Theatre Directors Mesa Jones and Abby Starkey judged Thespy events performing at the festival. Bin, a member of the Kansas State Festival Board, also led the Competitive Improv Event and the Honor Troupe competition.
Students participated in a variety of workshops and classes throughout the festival learning about acting, technical theatre, dance, playwriting, and other theatre-related topics. Workshops were taught by theatre professionals from all over the country. Thespians also viewed mainstage and one-act productions from schools throughout the state. Students competed in events including Competitive Improv, Speed Charades, and Creative Costuming. Attendees also had the opportunity to meet with college theatre programs from across the country.
Brown said, “At KTF, I learned to embrace failure, and to use failure to my advantage, whether it be humorous or serious, I can use my failures as a way to bring life to my performances. In fact, failure is no longer a word I use to describe mishaps in my performances anymore, now I call them moments of opportunity.”
Sophomore Theodore Bowman added, “Going to KTF is more than an experience, it’s a bonding adventure full of new friends, incredible workshops, lots of laughs, and mind-blowing performances. KTF isn’t a theatre-filled field trip, it’s a weekend where emotions are inevitable, friends are everywhere, laughing is plenty, and memories are made.”
FSHS Theatre’s next event is auditions for Clue High School Edition on Jan. 12 and 13 with performances on March 5-7, 2026.
Photos and information about Troupe #7365 can be found at the Fort Scott High School Thespians Facebook page.
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Contact: Angie Bin, [email protected], 620-719-9622.
International Thespian Festival qualifiers from left to right: Top – Clark Uttinger, Levi Fairchild, Lily Brown. Bottom – Ava Johnson, Junie Fisher, Gianna Gorman, Grace Walker.
Fort Scott High School Thespians attending the Kansas Thespian Festival from left to right: Top – Junie Fisher, Chris Newman, Clark Uttinger, Tray Maloun, Aimee Hardwick, Levi Fairchild, Tyffani Bolden, Michael Stevenson II. Middle – Abby Starkey, Theodore Bowman, Emma Marshall, Isis Patton, Lily Brown, Bonnie Esgar, Angie Bin. Bottom – Mesa Jones, Ava Johnson, Gianna Gorman, Allie Wards, Grace Walker, Landon McDaniel, Trinity Leihsing.
FSHS students compete in the Creative Costuming event: (from left to right) Isis Patton, Ava Johnson, Grace Walker.
Chris Newman and Ava Johnson in the one-act play “When Bad Things Happen To Good Actors.”
