On Saturday, November 14, District 7 held their thespian district competition. It took place at J.P. Taravella High, with everyone arriving at around 7:45 a.m. and the event lasting until 9 p.m. During their time at districts, our peers were able to triumph and brought home several awards.

The results of the competition came out the day of. One of these results included Duet Acting, where a Critic’s Choice (an equivalent to first place recognition) was awarded to juniors Ian Wilson and Carolina Rodriguez.

They worked together to reenact a scene from the play, The Marriage Counselor, by Joey Oulette. They had about two months to prepare, and spent that time rehearsing after school together. “The hardest part was balancing school work and other extracurriculars for Thespys,” Wilson said.

Initially, the two did not think they performed to the best of their capabilities. “We actually messed up while performing in front of the judges,” Rodriguez said. “I thought they had noticed, I was really upset afterwards until we saw the results.” Despite the issues they had faced, they were still able to pull everything off. As a result, they performed their award winning piece in front of everyone to enjoy.

There were also some perfect scores in different sections. Juniors Ashley Hearn, Autumn Erez, and freshman Willow Pekala had earned a perfect score for their piece, Pretty Young Men by A… My Name is Alice. “We would rehearse almost everyday after school,” Hearn said. “It was actually pretty difficult because it was very hard to coordinate all of our schedules.” The few days before the competition, they did extra practice in the chorus room whenever they had the chance to.

During their practice they had to prepare their choreography, learn to harmonize with each other, memorize lyrics, etc.,“ Mr. A would help us a lot,” Pekala said. Assistant band director Brandon Arguello would help them learn the notes and understand how to read music. “Once they became more comfortable singing the notes, I just focused on the musicality of trying to focus on how to make the notes fit to the style of character that they have to act and portray as, ” Arguello said. “After that, we tried to focus on drilling more into the style, especially based on the music and the time period it’s from.” A lot of work went into the performance, earning them the top honors.

Overall, the district competition went well for the students at Charter. “It was my first district competition for drama, and it was probably the most fun I’ve had in a while,” Arguello said. Students were able to show off their craft they’ve been mastering and working hard for, and in the end, it all paid off.