The theatre troupe from Chandler High School got their week at the International Thespian Festival in Indiana started off with a bang -- almost literally.
As the opening ceremony was about to begin, thousands of students and teachers were ushered into storm shelters. Theatre teacher Inda Jo Conway said they were in the Hoosier basketball stadium, all spread out and enjoying the pre-ceremony activities when organizers came in to tell them they were in a tornado warning. Teachers and students were taken to safe-spots in the stadium to wait it out, entertaining themselves with songs and games, according to Conway.
Thankfully, there were no tornadoes in their area andsoonenough,theweeklong festival was able to kick off, albeit a bit late.
Conwaysaidthestudents were treated to mainstage shows throughout the week, which were fulllength shows from high schools around the country, both musicals and plays. TherewerealsotheChapter Select shows. These were the one-act programs chosen to represent each state.
Chandler High School was the Chapter Select from Oklahoma. Conway said they had to make some adjustments to lighting and blocking, as they performed in Indiana University’s black box theatre. However, the adjustments weren’t noticeable.
“The kids felt like it was their best performance ever, and like I said, we got a standing ovation, which made me want to tear up because those weren’t just our parents,” she said. “Those are people who were there to see some good theatre and if you didn’t give it to them, they weren’t going to stand up.”
The productions were interspersed withworkshops, master classes and lectures, which the students took advantageof.Theyalsohad their individual competitions. OnWednesday,CHS performed their one-act, and then most of the students had their individuals that afternoon.
The high school took seven individuals and of those, five received Superior ratings. Recent grad James Kerr received a perfect score and was selected to perform in the showcase on the last day of the festival. He was one of 19 participants selected.
Elijah Brown, another recent grad, took part in the Tech Olympics. The competition is a series of events involving backof- house things, such as knotting ropes, setting lights, putting out props, and so on. Students could form teams of four with those from other schools andcompete.Brown’steam came in fourth.
For Conway, one of the biggest parts of the festival was the chance to expose her students to other kinds of theatre outside of Oklahoma.
“I take into consideration when I pick our shows our community values and our community standards, but those aren’t the rest of the country’s. I like to expose my students to other types of theatre,” she said. “And that’s the purpose of theatre. To expose you to other ideas and get you to think outside the box.”
She said her students were willing to check out something new, and even if it wasn’t something they would ever perform themselves, at least they were willing to see it.
Conway said the other performances were inspiring and motivational. She watched as many as she could to see what could be possible in Chandler for future productions and said she was surprised by some that she ended up liking. More than that, she was impressed with the quality of theatre at the festival, and not just from her own troupe.
It’s also got her and Chandler’s students ready for the new school year. ChandlerHighSchooldoes musicals every other year, so they won’t have one this coming year. There are already about 20 students enrolled in drama. Conway said many are already thinking about their individual competition pieces for next year’s festival.
She’s also already thinking about one-acts -- namely, whether to do Chapter Select again or focus on OSSAA One-Act Regionals. Or both.
Either way, everyone is excited.
“I hope they can keep the… rekindle that excitement when school starts, you know, that they have right now,” she said.
Next up is the children’s theatre camp and production of “Seussical the Musical.” Camp is set for July 19 to 22 and July 26 to 29, with the performance showcase on July 30 at 6 p.m.