Thespian Troupe 2129 of Claremont High School attended the three day California State Thespian Festival, also known as the Thesbys, a gathering of Thespian troupes from around the state of CA to share their arts and compete, on April 5th through 7th at Upland High School.
The Thesbys are different types of theater-based art — for example, scenic, sound, musical theater performance, group acting, and costume design. Students participate and compete against each other in different sections, and are then judged and ranked. Performers are given a ranking: fair, good, excellent or superior. Performances earning a “superior” qualify the performers for the National Thespian Festival in Indiana in late June where they are invited to perform their act for a national audience.
During this three day event, the Thespians had the opportunity to take three to five workshops each. The workshops included tech, sword fighting, Shakespeare, playwriting and many more topics of interest, giving the attendees an opportunity to practice and learn new skills.
The final event of the festival was an abridged performance of Wicked in celebration of its 20th anniversary. CHS Thespians sophomore Elisa Connolly, senior Ian Ho and junior Zoe Abergel worked with students from other high schools and veteran performers to create two 20-minute productions for a combined audience of 2,000 people. Abergel acted in the piece and Ho and Connolly were assistant directors. Prior to the festival, the performers had learned the songs and dialogue individually, but were able to put it all together at the event. During that weekend, the performers and backstage workers rehearsed together, even receiving guidance from veteran Broadway performers.
The California State Thespian Festival finished off that weekend, leaving everyone who participated better-off with more knowledge and more connections than before. Congratulations to everyone who participated and make sure to visit CHS Theatre’s production of Spongebob: the Musical in late May and early June!
