The Wheatland High School (WHS) Thespian Troupe (formerly the WHS Drama Club) returned home from competing at the annual Wyoming High School State Drama Competition. This annual event has been held since 1972.
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, below, or purchase a new subscription.
Please log in to continue |
CASPER - The Wheatland High School (WHS) Thespian Troupe (formerly the WHS Drama Club) returned home from competing at the annual Wyoming High School State Drama Competition. This annual event has been held since 1972.
In 1989, the state drama event became a competition and is a Wyoming High School Activities Association scheduled event. More than 700 drama students in grades 9 through 12 attend this annual event, and an of average 25 Wyoming high schools are represented.
“State drama has changed considerably this year. Always before it’s been a competition and the rules based in that style. However, we had no national tournament to go to,” explained Merlin Hitt, WHS co-Director. “Now the rules have been realigned to match the International Thespian Society and now our kids can qualify to go to a national forum. The benefit of changing it to a festival format rather than a tournament format is that it becomes more educational for the kids. It fosters cooperation between the schools and cooperation is what theatre is all about. The cast and crew have to cooperate with each other and by having a festival format, then the schools within the state become more supportive of each other and less competitive.”
Participants are able to compete in several different categories that are all elements of the world of theatre. Acting, costume and make-up design, set and lighting design, original scripts and publicity. First through fourth year competitions are based on how many years the students have been competing in each particular element, it is not based on what year of high school they are. This method encourages students to try new things and not be penalized by competing against others who have had more time to perfect their craft.