TORRINGTON – For the second straight year, Torrington High School earned 3A runners-up honors at the State Drama competition in Rock Springs.

“We had a great year at State Drama – we had a second great year in a row,” director Chris Quillen said at a recent banquet honoring the students. “Leading up to state is always a lot of work and can be stressful, but the kids put forth their best, and it shows in the recognition they received.”

Out of 21 possible events, the THS crew entered 16 categories – each judged on a rubric.

“All of our entries received either superior or excellent ratings,” Quillen said, explaining “superior” is awarded an All-State designation, while “excellent” receives Honorable Mention.

“We also received quite a few top-10 placings,” she said. “We took 18 students … of the 21 students on the team this year.” A few students were unable to attend the event, but had already submitted their original script entries in advance.

In preparation for the event, and in addition to countless hours of rehearsal, students and directors (including Quillen, Erin Jespersen, vocal director, and Aaron Bahmer, set-tech director) hosted two workshops this fall.

“We think it is very important for the students to receive feedback and opinions – not just from us – so they can apply it and make their own decisions,” Quillen said.

The workshops featured Bill Conte from Casper College, local theater veterans Lisa Fluckiger, Diona-Savoy McDaniels, and Ginny Cameron, and Robert Thompson of Western Nebraska Community College.

“We coaches love theatre, and have all participated in it for years, but honestly, none of us are formally theater-trained.” Quillen said. “We appreciate that expert feedback just as much as the kids.

“Everyone loves how (theater) makes them feel or what they see in the moment – but the best part is when we get to take those experiences and challenge ourselves to create something new and unique.”

The group also had the opportunity to Skype with the playwright of its third-place-winning Devised Theatre (One Act), “AND OTHERS”, Mr. Dennis Bush.

“This helped our students to better understand the author’s motivations and apply that to telling the story,” Quillen said.

Individual and group results are as follows:

All-State/Superior ratings:

Hannah Nichols, Original Script Monologue; Bethany Wunibald, Costume Design; Bailey Walker, Lighting Design, Varsity Monologue and individual recognition for her role as Amanda in the One Act; Joseph Phillips, Varsity Monologue.

Honorable Mentions/Excellent:

Tristen Richers, Tabitha Douglass, Caleb Sauer, Group Acting; Joseph Philips, Kaden Wunibald, Keaton Yung, Gryphon Nepper, Group Acting; Robert Hendricks, Novice Monologue; Kaden Wunibald, Varsity Monologue; Sydney Harris and Trisha Cates, Varsity Duet; Tristen Richers and Ruby Ringrose, Varsity Duet; Sydney Harris, Joseph Phillips, Caleb Sauer, Ruby Ringrose, Keaton Yung, Tabitha Douglass, Bethany Wunibald, Vocal Ensemble; Bailey Walker, Solo Vocal; Dylan Flores, Solo Vocal; Kaylan Maez, Solo Vocal; Kaden Wunibald and Bethany Wunibald, Duet Musical; Ruby Ringrose and Tabitha Douglass, Duet Musical.

Top-10 Placings: 3A Team State Runners-Up – all competitors: Bailey Walker, Dylan Flores, Kaden Wunibald, Kaylan Maez, Heavin Thaden, Stephanie Nichols, Hannah Nichols, Makala Johnson, Tristen Richers, Sandra Vanatta, Joseph Phillips, Cade Lulow, Sydney Harris, Robert Hendricks, Ruby Ringrose, Tabitha Douglass, Trisha Cates, Caleb Sauer, Bethany Wunibald, Gryphon Nepper, Keaton Yung. Individual Events: Hannah Nichols, Original Script Monologue,1st; Sandra Vanatta, Theatre Marketing, 1st; Bethany Wunibald, Costume Design, 1st tie; Tech Olympics-Kaden Wunibald, Joseph Phillips, Sandra Vanatta, Sydney Harris, Gryphon Nepper,

Robert Hendricks, Caleb Sauer, 2nd; Cade Lulow, Short Film, 3rd; Bailey Walker, Kaylan Maez, Dylan Flores, Kaden Wunibald, Joseph Phillips, Sydney Harris, Bethany Wunibald, Caleb Sauer, Devised Theatre (One Act), “AND OTHERS”, 3rd tie; Sydney Harris, Sound Design, 3rd; Bailey Walker, Lighting Design, 4th; Sydney Harris, Scenic Design, 4th; Heavin Thaden, Original Script Monologue, 4th; Bailey Walker, Varsity Monologue, 7th tie; Joseph Phillips, Varsity Monologue, 7th tie; Sandra Vanatta, Original Script Monologue, 8th tie; Stephanie Nichols, Original Script Monologue, 8th tie; Ruby Ringrose, Realistic Makeup, 9th; Kala Johnson,Fantasy Makeup, 10th; Group Acting - Kaden Wunibald, Joseph Phillips, Keaton Yung, Gryphon Nepper, 10th.

“Most of these events have 50 to 60 entries, so being in the top 10 is quite an honor,” Quillen said. “All of our students performed the best we’ve ever seen them perform on the pieces they had prepared. We are so proud of all of them and honored to work with such an amazing group of thespians.”

Quillen also made certain to thank the bus drivers, Dave Anderson and Travis Bowers; and chaperones, Anthony Heyl, Kristen Boalch, Tonya Nepper and David Hendricks.

“There are so many logistics in getting this together and having it run smoothly,” she said.”We couldn’t do it without all the wonderful people who help us along the way.”  “Participating in State Drama is an excellent opportunity for our students to develop their theatre skills and creativity. We hope they will take what they learned during this process and apply it to the musical in the spring.”

The THS spring musical, “Thoroughly Modern Millie”, is currently in production. This time around, Quillen will build the set, Jespersen is directing, Bahmer will handle lights/sound, and Ryan Wunibald is the vocal coach. The musical will hit the stage for audiences April 4-6, 2019.