The Bear Stage players have advanced to the bi-district One Act Play competition on March 23 after placing third overall at the district competition with their performance of “Scenes from Steel Magnolias.”
One Act Play is a UIL competition in which a theatrical troupe performs a play in under 40 minutes. LCM has been a part of One Act Play for years, maintaining an almost thirteen-year streak of advancing to the area competition. One Act is an intense competition, as there are four rounds before a school reaches the state level.
Usually when rehearsing a One Act Play, a troupe has two months before the district competition to rehearse. For this year’s Bear Stage Players this year, they only had about three weeks to put the show together. The original show was “The Cover of Life,” but due to a technicality, another show had to be chosen. The decision to do “Steel Magnolias” was greeted with excitement, but that does not mean the struggles stopped there. Despite the challenges thrown at this year’s Bear Stage Players, they prevailed.
There are three categories an actor can place in during the One Act Play competition: Honorable Mention, All-Star Cast, and outstanding performer. Troupe 1115 had a student selected in each category, with senior Shailee Watz earning Honorable Mention, sophomore Laura Hughes earning All-Star Cast, and junior Zoe Henning earning Outstanding Performer.
“It’s absolutely insane, to be honest,” Watz said. “The sheer shock I felt when they called my name is indescribable. The people are incredible; it really is like a family.”
This was sophomore Laura Hughes’ second year performing with the troupe and she said receiving an individual award felt unbelievable.
“As my name was called, I genuinely believed someone had the same name as me for a second,” Hughes said. “I remember seeing every one of my friends clapping for me in the audience and it was great.”
Junior Zoe Henning was named outstanding performer and said the moment of being recognized was indescribable.
“I wanted to thank every person who has ever put faith in me,” she said.
Actors are not the only people who can receive awards; there is one category a technical person can get. All-Star Technician is an award given to the outstanding technicians of each theatrical troupe. Junior Caleb Detwiler received this honorable award.
“It felt amazing to receive a technical award,” Detwiler said. “Everyone in theatre no matter if they are an actor has been working their hardest to make this the best show possible. I am incredibly honored to be a part of Troupe 1115 and to receive this award.”
