Charles students earn awards at International Thespian Festival

Charles County public high school students in school-based theater programs recently took their skills to the International Thespian Festival at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.

The 28 students who attended were accompanied by five Charles County theater teachers.

For the first time in seven years, students competed in the festival’s closing ceremony showcase, according to a release from the school system. There are 1,500 groups at the event and only nine groups are chosen to participate in the showcase.

Two Charles groups, out of the nine nationwide, were chosen to compete in the showcase.

The following students from Maurice J. McDonough High School placed in the Solo Musical Theatre category: Brett Wood, Tessa Fetterman, Mikayla Nairn and Mya Sellers.

Addyson Jordan and Renard Smith from North Point High School received superior ratings.

Ricaria Lawson and Kori Sobers from St. Charles High School competed in solo categories.

The following students from St. Charles received the superior rating in the group musical theatre category in showcase: Za’Nyah Brown, Cadence Dye, Angela Foster, Laila Franklin, Ashley Campos Gomez, Jaiden Holly, Zion Kosh, Ricaria Lawson, Marcuse Marshall, Daymond Parker, Elias Thompson, Kaelyn Williams, Brenden Wrenn and Nia Young.

Seniors Joshua Pelzer and Kaylah Pratt from Westlake High School received the Thespy Award, which is a perfect score, in the duet musical performance category. They also participated in showcase.

Zion Calloway, a junior from Westlake, received an excellent rating in the solo musical performance category.

“Thank you CCPS and the Board of Education of Charles County for sending us once again to the International Thespian Festival in Bloomington,” Jana Heyl, lead theater teacher at McDonough, said in the release. “It’s such an amazing experience. Our students did a wonderful job in competitions, in college auditions, at shows and in workshops.”

Charles public school drama/theater arts teachers that attended were Jackson Long from Westlake, Tessa Silvestro from North Point, Ben Simpson and Timothy LaBelle from St. Charles.