Every year in March, (March 19-24) schools in Florida come together in Tampa for the Florida State Thespian Festival; the largest gathering there is for a high school students to declare their love for Theater. For three days the festival offers: workshops, shows, one acts, and mainstage shows, to show students what it takes to be a singer, actor, or dancer. With so many events and shows the thespians are never bored.

This year, along with the theme of the Florida State Thespian Festival being Pirates of the Caribbean:  A Thespian’s Life For Me, my troupe 6760 and I had the privilege to Mainstage our fall show, Little Women at Carol Morsani Hall located at the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for Performing Arts on Friday, March 22.  Friday Night shows at Carol Morsani Hall are prime! It is such an honor to have my troupe perform at Morsani Hall for the third time. Not only did we bring Little Women to Tampa, but we also brought our One Act, The Booby Trap to perform at Ferguson Hall, which happens to be right next to Morsani Hall. Both performances performed in front of 3,000 people and  judges were also there to watch and rate our show which received a Superior rating. This is the second highest honor given for a performance. Some of the troupe 6760 members were able to perform “All I Wanna Do Is Eat” at Opening Ceremonies at Carol Morsani Hall representing District 10.  An Ensemble Acting scene had several troupe members perform “Disney Mom Therapy”for which they received a Straight Superiors, “The Actuary Song” from the musical I Love You Because performed by Julieta Albano and Rachael Oney received superiors as well. The best award of the week went to the large group musical number, “What a Game” from the Musical Ragtime when  selected thespian members received not only straight superiors, but also were given Top Honors, which is the highest award given.

For someone who just experienced their first time at State competition, I would have to say that this year was the best year for troupe 6760 leaving a mark for the next generation that comes.