For Lincoln East High School’s theater department, the second semester starts off with a bang as the troupe travels to the Nebraska Thespian Festival. From January 7-10, students compete in events such as Solo Musical Theatre Performance, Contrasting Monologues, or as part of the improv team. 21 members of Lincoln East’s troupe 3185 traveled to Omaha for the festival, hoping to take advantage of the opportunities available there.
“Students can apply for scholarships, they can submit for Thespys, which is the colloquial name for excellence in theater awards, and there are many different kinds of Thespys you can submit for.” said director and teacher Ms. Cooper, who received the Teacher of the Year award at this year’s Thespian Festival. “It’s also a great opportunity to get professional eyeballs on our kids. We have a lot of kids who are trying to be professional performers, and that festival is filled with both college reps and professional reps, and they do come and talk to our kids during the festival.”
The students at the festival tried many new activities, taking part in workshops that offered lessons in dance, set design, auditioning, and more. Actors Jilliana Venema and Myles Hardt performed in the student-written play “From Thomas, With Love” as part of the Playworks program. Myles Hardt and Zach Johannes were selected to perform in the Thespy showcase, while many other Thespy submissions received the highest score of Superior.
The East improv team won first in the state this year, marking the only occasion East has ever brought home this award. The team had been practicing since October and had set their sights on the trophy, which is now sparkling in the Lincoln East theater. The team earned a perfect score in the qualifying round, an achievement which had only been done once before in the history of the competition.
“At the festival, it’s really awesome, because it’s thespians from all across the state so you get different people doing different musicals and different shows, with different experiences. Personally, I’ve picked up on different styles of acting, which is really cool to see along with different styles of singing,” senior Zach Johannes, who competed at the festival, explained. “The people are genuinely the most energetic and fun people to be around. It can be exhausting after three days, but it’s awesome.”
The festival also provides students with a chance to see musicals and plays performed by schools all across the state. This year, Papillion La Vista produced “Ride The Cyclone” while Lincoln Southwest performed “Bright Star”. Both shows received rave reviews from the audience. Along with these, the All-State play is an opportunity for students of different schools to perform together in a show. Stephen Gregg’s “Trap” was performed this year, with the playwright himself in the audience.
The Nebraska Thespian Festival provides performers from all across the state a common place to share their loves, talents, and successes. Lincoln East’s excellent turnout at this event is an example of the hard work and accomplishments the theater troupe consistently produces.
