On February 7th and 8th the Helena High Theater’s thespian club attended the oldest theater festival in Montana holding the first one in 1978. They competed at the 2020 Montana State Thespian conference in Missoula with the original play “Wasps” and  “Why You Shouldn’t Let Al Write Scripts For You”, “Wasps” was written by Helena High junior, Rylee Reynolds and directed by senior Jillian Richards. “This short play is about an awkward conversation after a relationship ended. The boy character is a super toxic and controlling person and the girl finally stands up against him,” Richards said. “Why You Shouldn’t Let Al Write Scripts For You” written by Helena High senior, Charles Barnett and directed by senior, Sarah Melbourne-Baker. “The play is a comedy based in London, England with mugger. There is a lot to the story but it was a really fun play to do,” Richards said

The Montana Thespians Festival mission is to “Impact the lives of our youth in Montana through theatre education, advocacy, networking opportunities, and community building resources.” The festival is considered to be a non-competitive event; however, awards like scholarships are given out throughout the weekend. “Wasps” won the Outstanding 10 Minute Performance award. The cast of  “Why You Shouldn’t Let Al Write Scripts For You” received an Outstanding Ensemble award for their great performance! Sarah Melbourne-Baker was awarded a University of Montana $750 merit scholarship and an Outstanding Actress in a Drama award for her role as Eva in the original play “Wasps.”