COLUMBUS, Miss. (CMSD) – On the stage and under the lights, Columbus Middle and High School students are using their talents to end the semester with award-winning theatrical performances.
The thespians took home multiple awards at the Second Performing Arts Festival this past weekend at Columbus Middle School. Eight schools from across the region participated in the event.
This type of performance requires hours of preparation.
“CMS and CHS students have been preparing their individual events since August. Some of the students who did costume construction have been working since June. For performance events, the students choose their own scripts and rehearsed before and after other play rehearsals. For technical events, I assisted them during designated times after school and on weekends. Costume construction was a particularly challenging undertaking as it requires a student to design and build a costume from beginning to end. Most of the students had never sewn anything before taking on sewing some very complicated costumes. Costumes were built for “Cinderella,” “Waitress,” “Into the Woods,” “Frozen,” and “Descendants.” For our one-act play, “Queens,” we began preparing in September with auditions and research on the characters, time-period, and events mentioned in the play. Those rehearsals took place in the evening, after the students’ other practices for volleyball, band, and the fall play. The play was a huge commitment and required a lot of maturity from the students, who range from 7th-11th grade,” explained CMS Drama Teacher Chelsea Petty.
Some students are receiving inspiration from kids their age that live nearly 10,000 miles away.
“Over the past several years since first reading “Queens,” I have formed a friendship with the playwright, an Australian drama teacher, Kristen Doherty. She performed the play with her students this semester as well, so we paired up our students as pen pals. They were paired with the other person playing the same role as them and have been emailing back and forth for the past few months,” said Petty.
Students are also building sets that must work for the competition.
“To put on a one-act like “Queens,” a lot of research goes into the preparation. It is an allegory based on the lives of real-life people. During a competition, the setting and striking of your set counts in your 45-minute time limit, so the set must be practical, artistic, and easily assembled by the students. All the costumes were designed and built here at CMS. The white dresses were made by me, Cameron Baldwin, and a former student, Cristin Coleman. I made all of the Queens’ dresses, Henry costumes, and the Fool’s costume. The set was built and painted by me and the students. It was a lot of long hours and hard work. Also, since we were hosting the festival, there was another level of difficulty in that we were not just concerned about our own performances, but also in making sure our guests had everything they needed to have the best experience. The Falcons Performing Arts Booster parents were amazing and helped so much with logistics and supervision and clean-up. I am so grateful to have such amazing drama parents! And students!,” said Petty.
CMS/CHS Secondary Performing Arts Festival Winners:
1st Place Best One-Act Production
Best Costumes
Best Ensemble
Best Actor-Cameron Baldwin
Best Supporting Actor-Easton Sime
All-Star Cast: Deyonte Lanier, Aaliya Moore, & Markayla Moore
Individual Events:
1st Place Monologues-Amiya Magee
2nd Place Monologues-Kaylan Tate
3rd Place Group Scene-Aaliya Moore, Mireilly Morales, & Markayla Davis
2nd Place Duet Scene - Emir Johnson & Joyce Ayoola
2nd Place Solo Musical-Deyonte Lanier
3rd Place Duet Musical-Aaliya Moore & Deyonte Lanier
Technical Design Events:
1st Place MS Costume Construction-Kaylan Tate
2nd Place MS Costume Construction-Amiya Magee
3rd Place MS Costume Construction-Amarii Jones
1st Place HS Costume Construction-Cameron Baldwin
2nd Place HS Costume Construction-Mireilly Morales
3rd Place HS Costume Construction-DeAsia Calmes
2nd Costume Design-Jazmyne Hannah
3rd Place Costume Design-Jeremiah Wells
2nd Place Stage Management-Olivia Jones
1st Place Stage Management-Briyanna Brown
