Jemicy School Thespians Named State Champions at 2020 Maryland State Thespian Festival
Jemicy School's International Thespian Society Troupe #8269 was named state champion at the Maryland State Thespian Festival at Towson University Jan. 10-11. Jemicy School thespians will now represent Maryland by performing their award-winning One Act on the Chapter Select Stage at the International Thespian Festival June 22-27 at Indiana University Bloomington.
Jemicy School won Chapter Select, the highest prize, in the state festival's One Act competition and will perform its one-act production, The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project, alongside 29 other Chapter Select troupes from around the world at the international festival. At the state festival, the troupe won production awards for outstanding ensemble, outstanding vocal work, and outstanding production, and its Quiz Bowl team won the trivia competition. Jemicy School's thespians also claimed many distinguished individual awards, including nine superior-ranked student performances. This ranking now qualifies these students to compete against troupes from around the world in the new International Thespian Excellence Awards, known as the Thespys.
Superiors: Thespians who qualified to compete on the international level in their respective categories:
Amna Al-Meer - Acting Monologue
Phoebe Boisvert - Acting Group Scene
Meghan Gosse - Acting Monologue
Meghan Gosse - Musical Theatre Solo
Daniel Haskey - Acting Duet Scene
Ethan Lifson-Book - Acting Group Scene
Ethan Lifson-Book - Acting Monologue
Andrew Spriggs - Acting Duet Scene
Gracie Stilling - Stage Management
Sarah Thompson - Acting Group Scene
International Thespian Excellence (Thespy) Award Winner: The highest scoring superiors from the state festival receive an invitation-only callback, and the very best are chosen for the coveted State Showcase as Thespy Award Winners:
Gracie Stilling - Stage Management
Maryland Thespians Scholarship Winner: Four students win a $500 scholarship.
Gracie Stilling - Stage Management
The International Thespian Festival, (ITF) produced by the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA), celebrates student achievement in the performing arts. The 57th event brings together more than 5,000 high school drama students and their teachers for a weeklong immersion in workshops; interaction with colleges, industry leaders, and Broadway professionals; and opportunities to be inspired by the best high school theatre in the nation.
Jemicy School, a private school that serves students with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences, earned a Send a Troupe to Festival grant in 2017, which is awarded only to schools that have never before participated in the International Thespian Festival. Last year they returned to the International Thespian Festival having been invited to perform on the festival's Main Stage. The highly coveted invitation signals achievement of superior work in theatre according to EdTA's Director of Educational Programs, Nancy Brown. "It is a real honor," she explains, "because we send screening teams out all across the U.S. and Canada during the school year and only 11 schools will be selected to present their shows on the main stage. These Thespian troupes have earned a slot among those honored few." This year, Jemicy will return yet again to the International Thespian Festival, this time performing on the Chapter Select Stage.
"It's remarkable to me that these kids continue to accomplish their goals and achieve their dreams with such fortitude and grace," said Sean Elias, Troupe Director and Chair of the Upper School Department of Performing Arts. "We're so humbled to be representing the great state of Maryland yet again this summer at the International Thespian Festival and that others continue to recognize the talent, effort, and dedication these students embody here at Jemicy School. I look forward to another summer of meeting, collaborating, performing, and learning alongside so many talented students, professionals, and educators from around the world."
