From April 4th-6th 2024, Sam Barlow’s Theatre Department participated in the Oregon Thespian State Festival in Salem which showcased over 1,500 theater students from around the state.
Barlow’s theater department qualified to compete with 14 performances in six categories: solo acting, duo acting, group acting, solo musical, dance, and group musical. Barlow students received superior scores that qualified them for nationals. Two seniors, Alissa Cohen and Camden Schroeder, were exemplary at the festival.
Cohen was one of the four students selected to premiere her original play “Laughing. Cheering. Chanting. Accepting” at the festival playwriting showcase. Schroeder won first place in the solo musical category. When asked about the festival Schroeder said, “I got to be with a lot of super talented individuals.” When discussing his first-place award and the opportunity to perform at the Salem Convention Center he said it was an honor, “Performing in front of 1,500 theater kids, it’s a little nerve-wracking! The environment is always so positive, and the amount of support you get from the room while performing is insurmountable. I have attended State for the last three years, and it is truly an amazing place to be.”
The Oregon Thespian State Festival is a great opportunity for theater students. While it is a competition, it also provides an amazing educational and social experience for the students. Along with competing in the festival students got to attend workshops, perform their student-directed one-act, see great productions, and meet amazing theater students and professionals from all around Oregon. Barlow senior, Anthony Felipe, said that his experience at state was “Very educational and also sad because it was the last one I did”
The Oregon Thespian State Festival was filled with a lot of different activities that left students with minimal breaks. Students get to choose which workshops, activities, and performances to attend. Each workshop has a different focus such as dancing, singing, acting, costuming, makeup, stagecraft, and more. “Most students only performed once unless you showcased, and the rest of the weekend was full of workshops and performances,” said senior Kylise Trevino..
Congratulations to Cohen, Schroeder, and the rest of the theater students who participated in the festival!
