CONFERENCE!!!WOW! What a wonderful two days this has been in downtown Phoenix at the Arizona State Thespian Conference. I had an absolute blast there and joined the ranks of over 1600 students to enjoy the art of theatre. My mom chaperoned on Friday so I have a few pictures to share. There was no camera on Saturday, but that's okay though. Here's a lowdown on what went on at our Conference:We saw quite a few plays. On the mainstage we saw The Diary of Anne Frank, a few excerpts from the musical Once On This Island, and (my favorite) The Odd Couple, not to mention a few one-acts I watched on Saturday (one was good, the other not so much). We had the Phoenix Convention Center to ourselves, and we filled up the entire South Ballroom (easily could fit two or more football fields). It was essentially a large pep assembly; 75 high schools from all over Arizona brought their troupes. My girlfriend auditioned for a Playworks piece, which is a workshop where students write 10-minute plays and cast and perform them to help elaborate the writing process. She got a part in two of them and they were both pretty good. All four Playworks plays were entertaining. The other workshops were let-downs; I also went to a stage combat course which (once we finally found where they were moved to) was more or less, "Hire a fight choreographer because you don't get it." I also attended an improv workshop which was fun, though a majority of the class didn't really grasp the concept of what the guy was trying to teach us. At least the Willow Canyon people knew what they were doing. My friend Austin auditioned for and received a $1200 scholarship for his technical theatre work, and this scholarship allows him to buy books for whatever school he chooses to attend. My friends Laura, Alyx, and Marina also got critic's pick for their group musical individual event and performed their song on the mainstage at the end of the conference for everyone to see. And, of course, there was my play that I wrote. It went up in a conference room at 8:30pm on Friday, November 16. The place was almost full, and I was so nervous I couldn't sit for the entire 50-minute performance. After the play was finished, the judges cliniced us (which I took extensive notes on because I need to write all of this in my IB Theatre Project paper) and told us their thoughts. When Mrs. Swinney told them that There Go I was written and directed by me, all three of their jaws dropped in surprise. On the scorecard, one judge actually wrote that the selection was great, though it wasn't a familiar piece to her. At the end of Saturday night, we got the final score: SUPERIOR from ALL THREE JUDGES. One of the judges is the theatre director at Arizona Western College in Yuma and he stapled his business card to his scorecard. But the REAL surprise came right before I got the scorecard. When we were all gathered in the ballroom, the Arizona State Thespian Director gave a speech about Jerome McDonough, a playwright who, even though he was the sponsor of a troupe in Texas, always came to the Arizona Conference instead to teach his workshops. Ten days after the Conference of 1999, he died. Ever since then they have been giving out the Jerome McDonough Award to troupe directors and adults who wrote really good plays, both full-length and one-acts. After finishing this speech, they called my name:  I am the first student in Arizona Thespian history to win this award. Mrs. Swinney wants to put a picture of me holding this in the newspaper. So last night was pretty good for me. Who knows, maybe they'll invite me to perform during the International Thespian Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska! Here's some pics: KJ in full costume. Right now, he is wearing about six layers of clothing because all costume changes take place in the same room as the audience. This is his bum costume, in all it's layered glory. Underneath is his prison jumpsuit and under that is his formal costume for the final scene. Me helping Jessica get in her prison guard costume. We ended up losing her radio while unloading the truck so it's a good thing I brought a backup (a cut 1x3 section spray-painted black). Everyone frantically (and silently) getting ready in the hallway. That's Mrs. Swinney, my teacher and producer in the blue. Last-minute practice between KJ and Justin. Quick prep-talk before going into the room. Everyone was twitchy and nervous. Me introducing the play while KJ and Logan wait onstage. This was the area in which we had to perform. We love challenges. Final curtain call. Final curtain call. Everyone was so impressed with my play that all day Saturday, people kept coming up to me and telling me how good it was. Even some of the judges stopped me in the hall and congratulated me again. Someone told a friend of mine how he saw this play that was really good, going on and on about how great it was. When she asked which play it was, he said, "There Go I." This was an amazing experience that I will never forget. |
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