Upper School Thespians Shine in School Record District Performance

UPPER SCHOOL THESPIANS SHINE IN SCHOOL RECORD DISTRICT PERFORMANCE

This past weekend, 41 Upper School Students traveled to Montverde Academy in Montverde, FL on Friday for the One Act competition and Assessment and Eagle Ridge High School in Clermont, FL on Saturday for the District 12 Individual Event Florida Theatre Assessment. Over the weekend, the students competed in 35 events (the one-act plus 34 different performance and technical events). When the results were announced, they represented yet another milestone in achievement and secured the Village School Upper School Thespians Troupe #8376's status as one of the top theatre programs in the 24-school district.

 

First up on Friday in Montverde, almost the entire troupe of 41 were involved either with load in and load out, backstage crew, lights, and sound, or were a part of the large ensemble cast of 18 in Don Zolidis' new comedy The One Act Play Disaster. Once the set is loaded into the designated six-foot by eight-foot box, director Dr. Will Eyerly must step aside and let the students take over under the direction of the Stage Manager, just the same as a professional production would be run. They have 40 minutes to set up the set, lights, and sound, run the show, and strike the set back to the box or be disqualified. When it was over, the Village School Troupe was adjudicated in person by the panel of acting and technical judges. All three judges awarded scores of SUPERIOR, including one perfect score. When specific awards were announced at Saturday night's closing ceremony, TVS walked away with numerous trophies, including:

 

All-Star Cast Acting Award: Emily Sarjeant

All-Star Crew Tech Award: Brooklyn Stuben

Outstanding Prompt Book: Brooklyn Stuben

Outstanding One Act Ensemble: The entire cast of 18 - Emily Sarjeant, Zoe Meyer, Caroline Hayes, Jack DeVicaris, Luke Bower, Sammi Sweet, Cara Helm, Darius Henegar, Olivia Dooney, Samantha Dooney, Jack Bosley, Danville Leadbetter, Olivia DeVicaris, Savannah Ouverson, Siena Sulmasy, Lauren Lappin, Parker Caldwell, and Arianna Schipper.

 

Troupe #8376 was also announced as runner-up to represent our district at the State competition for One Acts. Both the cast and crew of the one-act were also honored on stage with SUPERIOR pins. 

 

The Stage Crew included: Brooklyn Stuben, Noah Clarke, Sofia Akimova, Cooper Caldwell, Shaelin Foss, Maella Eisenga, Mia Slaboch, Isabella Romney, Barbara Coker, Aubrey DeVicaris, Tyler Drury, Alex Newman and Kaitlin Lappin.

 

Day two of the competition saw our TVS Thespians at a new venue, Eagle Ridge in Clermont, for individual acting and technical events. Once again, a panel of three judges in each event room venue scores the presentations and performances on a rubric that equates to a final rating of either Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent, or Superior. Awards are given for Excellent and Superior. Only Superior pieces may move on to State. In 35 events completed, the day ended with 27 events awarded SUPERIOR qualifying to move on to State competition, and eight prestigious awards of EXCELLENT. However, due to limits the State Thespian Board places on each school's entries, the maximum allowed events Director Dr. Will Eyerly may send is only six! It makes it very hard to choose when you have so many outstanding performances that qualify. In addition, The Village School troupe #8376 earned three Top Honor/Critics' Choice trophies (meaning of all the events in that category, that performance was judged best of the best). Those trophies were awarded to:

 

Choreography: "Big Spender" from Sweet Charity - Savannah Ouverson

Large Group: "Land of Yesterday'' from Anastasia - Aubrey DeVicaris, Cara Helm, Lauren Lappin, Janelle Miller, Alexandra Newman, Savannah Ouverson, Victoria Rinaldi, Mia Slaboch, Brooklyn Stuben, and Sammi Sweet.

Solo Musical: "Wait a Bit" from Just So - Daniella Flom

 

Those performers were honored on stage at the Closing Ceremony with the trophy presentation and showcase performance. At the conclusion, the District Directors selected just two events as the Best Overall to perform at the Florida State Thespian competition ceremony performances at the historic Tampa Theatre. 

 

Village School Troupe #8376 was selected to perform "Big Spender" and Savannah Ouverson will lead her dancers Daniella Flom, Cara Helm, Lauren Lappin, Janelle Miller, Mia Slaboch, Brooklyn Stuben, and Sammi Sweet in three performances in the Tampa Theatre in front of an audience of thousands on Wednesday, March 15, 2023.

UPPER SCHOOL THESPIAN RESULTS

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