On February 1st and 2cnd, the Helena High Thespians attended the 90th annual Thespian Festival in Missoula, where students from all over the state join together to present their one act plays, as well as participate in a banquet held by the University of Montana and watch a show put on by the Montana Repertory Theater.

    This year, Helena High took Sara Betz’s Lawyer to the festival, where it was very well received. In general, the crowd at Thesp Fest is excited to be where they are and support their peers with cheers of enthusiasm and laughter. However, for Lawyer, the crowd went wild. With almost constant laughter and many cheers emanating from the theater, the show was a hit with the crows and won six awards: Outstanding Comedy, Outstanding Student Director, (awarded to Auriana Kent), Outstanding Student Written Comedy, (awarded to Sara Betz), Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy, (awarded to Torin Trout), Outstanding Set, (awarded to the technical crew led by Christopher Duffey) and Outstanding Costumes, (awarded to the costume crew led by Sarah Sizemore). Three scholarships for the arts were also awarded to Torin Trout, Ember Cuddy, and Sarah Sizemore during the Banquet.  The cast and crew of Lawyer especially bonded, and in the words of Sarah Betz, the playwright, “It was so amazing seeing Lawyer come to life and getting the honor to see the show receive so many awards. Kudos to all of the wonderful people that made it happen.” Overall, 9 awards, including scholarships, was a massive take-away for Helena High, and the theater department is proud to present them. The other schools that attended did amazingly as well, with CM Russell from Great Falls and Jefferson High from the Clancy area winning multiple awards for their dramatic performances. Capital High’s Troupe was also awarded Outstanding Troupe, an amazing and applaudable accomplishment for our neighboring school.

    Despite all of these accomplishments, more important was the fun that students had at Thespian Festival. Watching the MT Repertory Theater’s production of White Christmas was something that stood out in many of the students memories of the trip as an amazing musical experience. The banquet also allowed students to applaud their peers while also getting dressed up and having fun at dinner.Jillian Richards, Assistant Stage Manager to the production, noted that she especially appreciated the acclamation, saying, “It was an awesome experience and it was great to see so many schools so supportive with one another.”

Most importantly, the shows ranging from drama to comedy to anywhere in between made us laugh cry, and head back home with a new sense of Thespian unity, and made us proud to do what we do.