The Drama Competition of 2024, which was held at Canyon Ridge High School, concluded on December 7th and the results were read leaving CRHS with five successful winners.
The winners of the Drama Competition in Canyon Ridge were Casey Rollins and Clover Herald who placed first in Scenic Design. Henli Bosh and Taylor Murdoch placed first in Ensemble Serious, and Clover Herald and Jessica Myhre placing second in the same theatrical subject, Ensemble Serious.
“…an incredible wave of accomplishment washed over me…” Casey said as he thought back on the competition.
Casey Rollins and Clover Herald made a set design for the play Radium Girls. In Set Design, contestants choose a play and create what they think the scene is like, as there can be many interpretations. Contestants must also give a speech that lasts for six to ten minutes describing the set and why they chose the designs for it.
“I chose this play, Radium Girls, which was based on a true event that took place in the 1920s,” Clover said, “It is about young dial painters who were women who contracted radiation poisoning from painting dials and clocks during World War II.
“Our design was simple yet impactful,” Clover said. “Preparing for a drama competition involves a lot of hours and redos.”
“Sometimes it just doesn’t work out,” Casey said. “We did a lot of tiny detail work…at the end of our speech, glow-in-the-dark paint would be revealed with black light.”
Clover hopes that her and Casey’s piece will inspire other drama contestants “to go above and beyond.”
Henli and Taylor earned first in the Serious Ensemble. “When it was announced that we placed 1st at state, an overwhelming amount of emotion came over me…I felt accomplished,” Henli said. “When I realized that my teammate and I were getting 1st place, I went into immediate shock. I was so incredibly proud of myself and proud of my teammate.”
In Humorous or Serious Ensembles, contestants are allowed ten minutes maximum and four minutes minimum to perform their full script. “The first step to preparing for drama competition was to find a good script,” Taylor and Henli both went deeper into their characters which added more stability in their scene and it made it stronger. The script Henli and Taylor chose was called, The Space Between Us by Anna Whitney which is a serious ensemble script.
“Getting coaching from Mr. Issacs and other students was a big help,” Henli said.
Jessica and Clover earned second in Serious Ensemble with their script Drive Away. “I was surprised when I made it to State…with finals, you have to be confident,” said Jessica.
“When I placed second for my ensemble serious, that was a genuine shock,” Clover said. “I’m so grateful that my partner Jess could help me accomplish this huge milestone.”
“I think our team did very well,” Jessica said. “Everyone was proud of their pieces, and overall, that might be better than winning.”
Over the recent years, the participation in the Drama Competition has been over 600+ participants. 2021-2024 has had the same number of participants each year.
