RCHS students take center stage
RCHS drama students pose for the camera during the 49th annual high school theatre conference, December 4 through December 6 at the Colorado Convention Center.
By Michael Shapiro, RCHS intern writer
From December 4 through December 6, thirty-six Rock Canyon High School (RCHS) drama students attended the 49th annual high school theatre conference (often referred to as “Thescon”) at the Colorado Convention Center, located in the heart of the Denver performing arts community. More than 4,800 high school theatre students descended on the Convention Center to participate in various workshops, classes and performances.
“Thescon is a great experience for actors and technicians to showcase their talents against the rest of the state, while also taking workshops to become a better thespian,” RCHS senior Max Pederson said.
RCHS had a very successful showing, specifically in its one act plays and group scenes. The one act play submitted by Rock Canyon received straight superiors from the judges and was selected to compete at nationals. Directed by, and starring RCHS senior Nathan Nelson and featuring juniors Meredith Ham and Sam Hulsizer, this was the only one act play in all of Colorado to qualify for nationals. Juniors Kalle Sorbo and Lauren Yehle also qualified for nationals due to their group scenes. Seniors Liam Kelley and Andrew MacRossie received an “excellent” rating from the judges following their group scene.
“Overall I believe we did quite well at Thescon this year,” MacRossie said. “We all put in a lot of hard work and it was great to see it pay off.”
Thescon also offers high school students opportunities to perform for callbacks that often times lead to college scholarships. These callbacks are seldom given out and it is a large honor if a student receives even one during the conference. This year, Rock Canyon senior Lela Smith received eight callbacks from schools across the nation.
“After I got callbacks at Thescon I was able to finally realize that good schools with good theatre reputations think I’m good enough to get into their school,” Smith said. “It was a wonderful feeling and it was so cool to share that moment with my friends who came to Thescon.”
Whether it was one acts, group scenes, or scholarship offers, Rock Canyon drama had an incredibly successful Thescon. But unlike other sports and activities, the season for a thespian never ends. They will continue to tirelessly practice and perform in preparation for nationals and the spring musical this upcoming March.
