By Khalida Sarwari
Dozens of Saratoga High School drama students recently returned from a trip to Southern California with a number of prizes and honors they received at the 2013 California State Thespian Festival.
The annual festival, held March 22-24 at Upland High School in Upland, featured 42 students from Saratoga. According to drama teacher Sarah Thermond, they made up the largest group from any school in the state among the more than 1,000 other students.
The students competed in various categories against their peers from all over the state and also auditioned and interviewed for scholarships. Of the 42 students, 14 received a “superior” rating or higher, qualifying them for the International Thespian Festival. That list includes Jack McCarthy, Moriah Chermak, Matt Nobles, Karen Peterson and Luna Schmid.
There were a number of students who ranked in the top 10 in the state in their respective events. Those students were Moselle Main, Feargus MacFhionnlaoich, Gabby Crolla, Danny Kawadri, Clayton Brown, Ehrland Hollingsworth, Blake Propach, Andrew York and Jason Tatman.
In the Scenefest competition, students Laura Hannibal, Shayda Roohparvar and Pavi Sadras were named first-place winners as well as “Best of Fest.”
Several were given the opportunity to participate in an All-State show before the entire conference. Those students were Sella Malin, DJ Traina, Wren Sutterfield, Katie Burns and Stephen Jensen, who also received a $350 scholarship to study sound design in college.
Three students came in third in the Comedy Sportz Improv competition:Clayton Brown, Ehrland Hollingsworth and Andrew York.
The California State Thespian Festival is an annual three-day festival featuring performances by high school students from throughout the state, workshops led by theater professionals, tech events, auditions for scholarships, opportunities to talk to college representatives and commercial vendors selling theater merchandise.
