Salina Central and South Highs earn awards at state thespian festival

The Salina Journal
·2 min read

Students from the two public high schools in Salina both received honors and awards at the 2022 Kansas State Thespian Festival earlier this month.

Troupe No. 1476 from Salina South High and Troupe No. 639 from Salina Central High traveled to Wichita the first week of January for the festival, which was hosted at the Hyatt Regency and Century II Convention Center.

Gold Honors for both troupes

South High received a Gold Honor Troupe award, for completing the set of criteria, including community service activities, fund-raisers, touring productions and other activities.

Students from Salina South High's Troupe No. 1476 attended the Kansas Thespian Festival earlier in January. The students received the Gold Honor Troupe award at the festival in Wichita.
Students from Salina South High's Troupe No. 1476 attended the Kansas Thespian Festival earlier in January. The students received the Gold Honor Troupe award at the festival in Wichita.

Drama Club officers Mia Dennett and Malina Szyndlar put together the application for Honor Troupe with Dennett preparing the virtual presentation. Dennett and Szyndlar also helped organize and run the 2022 festival as members of the State Board.

Troupe members also put together a troupe display showcasing the productions and activities from the past year and a half. This year’s theme was “Hold Strong - We Can’t Stop the Beat” (using the musical "Hairspray" as inspiration) so the troupe prepared a 1960s theme display showcasing our work over the past year. The theme allowed troupes to show how strong students and troupes have been to overcome new challenges throughout the pandemic. The display team was led by Kaydence Dickson, Cameron Preble and Emily Streeter.

Central High also received a Gold Honor Troupe award with Josh Warner presenting the submission depicting, community service, productions, fundraising efforts and public outreach.

Students from Salina Central High's Troupe No. 639 are in costumes for "Tracks," a play by Peter Tarsi. The performance took first place for Chapter Select One Act at the Kansas Thespian Festival and was chosen to be performed at the International Thespian Festival in June at the University of Indiana-Bloomington.
Students from Salina Central High's Troupe No. 639 are in costumes for "Tracks," a play by Peter Tarsi. The performance took first place for Chapter Select One Act at the Kansas Thespian Festival and was chosen to be performed at the International Thespian Festival in June at the University of Indiana-Bloomington.

Troupe No. 639 also received several other awards, including First Place in the Chapter Select One Act competition for "Tracks" by Peter Tarsi. The show, which was directed by Lillian Meyers and Warner, had performances by Harper Johnston, Charles Goldbach, Warner, Emma Kelly, Tyler Campbell, Camille Morris, Ethan Henry, Peyton Wood, Chloe Highsmith and Vidhi Bhakta.

With the First-Place finish, "Tracks" was chosen to be performed during the International Thespian Festival, June 20 to June 24, at University of Indiana at Bloomington.

Auditions, workshops and late-night events

In addition to the competition, the Kansas Thespian Festival also includes opportunities for students to learn and hone their theatrical skills with workshops, late-night actitives and a chance for seniors to audition for colleges and universities.

From Salina South, Ethen Lainer and Yesenia Torres auditioned and received callbacks to visit with several college representatives.

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Salina Central and South Highs get awards at state thespian festival