Redhawks in Theatre Productions made history last Thursday as they advanced to UIL Districts for One Act Play for the first time in seven years.
Last week’s competitions were the first round of the 5A UIL One Act Play Contest and Redhawk Theatre did not disappoint, winning several individual awards and advancing to districts.
“I think the difference was this year, we had a cast and company that was really dedicated,” lead actress, junior Lexi Holding said. “I’ve never seen so many people so excited to get up on a stage and perform and rehearse. I can say, I’ve never had more fun getting to know a character and getting to see my progress in becoming that character.”
This year’s show is The Yellow Wallpaper by Kathryn Funkhouser, a 40 minute play based on the original short story written in the 1890s by Charlotte Perkins Gillman. As part of the competition, Redhawks are judged on both acting and technical elements, ranging from the 7 minute set up of the set, the techniques displayed by actors, and overall execution of the show from performance and design perspectives.
“The show is like, really emotionally heavy, and there’s been a lot of character work and all this emotional work that has been in all of our scenes,” Best Performer recipient, junior Ana Ortiz said. “And our blocking and everything that we’ve done so far, how that connects everything that we’ve worked on and how [it] ties everything together to make this a really fun show to do.”
Redhawks in The Yellow Wallpaper will take to the stage again Thursday at Lebanon Trail for their chance to advance to the next round of competition.
Individual awards won by the One Act Play cast on Thursday:
- Outstanding Technician: Manjit Mungara
- Honorable Mention: Safaa Shaikh and Dhillan Desai
- All Star Cast: Lexi Holding and Vidisha Anand
- Best Performer: Ana Ortiz
