University’s theater received an Overall Excellent score for their Gold Dust Woman one-act at the Thespian State competition in Tampa over spring break. 

   In addition to performing their one-act, the troupe also performed Newsies on the Main Stage, which meant students were expected to participate in two vastly different shows. “Taking on both a One Act Play and a Mainstage Musical presented many challenges, including having to load both sets onto a truck to transport, actors having to fully memorize lines in both shows, portray characters authentically, and the energy it takes to physically perform the demanding tasks,” said Theatre Director Mr. Alex Mendez. Having to make both physical and mental switches between productions was no easy feat for the troupe. “While it was an honor performing on the Main Stage, the shows were extremely different in terms of content and theme. “It was definitely more of an emotional struggle than I expected.  I thought that Transitioning from Newsies to Gold Dust Woman would be lighter and easier to do, but because of the darkness in the one act, it was way more emotional than I anticipated,” said senior Geovanni Montalvo. 

    The actors were not the only ones who had to quickly adapt to the struggle of two separate shows. Behind the curtain, the tech, set and costuming crews were challenged to work both shows. “We had to get an extra truck, but I did not find it conflicting at all. However, it definitely required a high level of organizational structure and energy,” said technical director Mr. Rick Juergens. Despite the rigorous nature of this competition, it taught students valuable skills in team-building. “The entire troupe was responsible for loading and unloading the truck for Newsies and each day at the festival students were focused on a different goal. It’s really a great learning experience for the students to have had the opportunity to take on such a heavy task and compartmentalize it all,” said Mr. Mendez

    Considering the show’s intense subject matter, having an emotional outlet was critical for those performing. “One thing that kept me going was music and my passion for acting,” said Montalvo. The troupe received both Excellent and Superior rankings for their performance at States.  “I am very proud of our accomplishments at the festival, having earned various superior and excellent rankings on our Thespy events and an overall Excellent score with a perfect score for Tech on our One Act Play. The students were able to attend various workshops and learnt so much from the experience,” said Mendez.