CASPER – Wheatland High School’s Thespian Troupe 605 brought home awards and accolades from the annual State Thespian Festival held at Casper Community College in December.
Twelve students and two coaches traveled to Casper to represent Wheatland with 700 other students from around the state. Schools bring One-Act or Devised Theatre group productions and then the troupe members can choose to compete with individual events of their choosing.
This year for acting we had two duet events featuring Aury Bertoch and Leah Eaton performing a scene from “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” and Lillian Fuentes and Maria Skager acting in a scene from “As She Likes It.” A group dance showcasing Ella Anderson, Leah Eaton and Monica Tracy performing a dance to “Dancing Queen” from the musical “Mamma Mia.” Tracy also choreographed and danced a solo musical theatre piece to “So much Better” from the musical “Legally Blonde.” Senior Damion Bohndorf sang and danced his way through “Mister Cellophane” from “Chicago.” Solo acting events included Bertoch and Rory Winter. For solo acting it’s required to perform selections from two different plays. Bertoch chose “Rikki Tikki Tavi” and “The Mousetrap”; Winter chose “Free the Frogs” and Shakespeare’s “Richard II”. Winter also signed up for solo dance (“Don’t Tell Mama” from “Cabaret”), original script writing and costume construction (“She Kills Monsters”.)
The Troupe performed admirably and several came close to medaling and qualifying for International Theatre Festival within just a few points, which is impressive as this was the first time competing for several members. However, senior member Winter qualified for Internationals in three of her events: solo acting, dance, and costume construction. Her costume project received a perfect score and her dance was the only international qualifier in the State of Wyoming.
The Troupe group events are where this company of talented kids showed off both their performing acumen and teamwork skills. They brought home First Place trophies in both their One-Act performance, “Gracie and the Galapanzas” and their original Devised theatre, “Happily Ever After...Eventually.” The judges commended them on their acting skills, comradery, and performance qualities. The One-Act included Bertoch, Bohndorf, Fuentes, Aiden Megeath and Winter with Tracy helping with costuming backstage. Devised Theatre included the entire troupe: Anderson, Bertoch, Bohndorf, Eaton, Fuentes, Megeath, Skager, Tracy, Winter and Enrique Rafael. Light and Sound engineers for both shows were Emiliano Bell and Chis Sinner respectively with Megeath serving as Stage Manager as well as the White Rabbit for the Devised.
The Troupe is led by Head Coach Kalyn Krotz and Assistant Coach Ton Winter.
This spring the Troupe will be performing “Arabian Nights” at the WHS Auditorium on April 11 and 12 at 7 pm and April 13 at 1 pm. It is a collection of folktales collected over many centuries across West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia and North Africa. The first English translation was in the 1700s. Appropriate for all ages, this performance will highlight storytelling, dance and redemption with adventure and humor in good measure. Watch for updates on the Facebook page for Wheatland Thespian Troupe 605.
