Team members for Temple High's entry in the annual UIL One-Act Play Contest have been announced. This year's entry in the annual UIL contest is scenes from Baby with the Bathwater by Christopher Durang. Rehearsals began Monday, January 28. The first level of the contest is Zone on Saturday, March 2, at Harker Heights High School.

CLICK HERE for the information page.

As the play begins, Helen (Sierra Amalbert) and John (Seth Little) gaze proudly at their new offspring, a bit disappointed that is doesn't speak English and they are too polite to check its sex. So they decide that the child is a girl and name it Daisy — which leads to all manner of future emotional and personality problems when it turns out that Daisy (Anthony Williamson) is actually a boy. The play charts the saga of Daisy's struggle to establish his identity and introduces us to the many zany characters he meets along the way.

Temple High School will present the striking drama Blood at the Root by Dominique Morisseau. Performances will be Thursday-Saturday, January 24-26, 2019 at 8 p.m., with a Sunday matinee on January 27 at 2 p.m. Rated PG-13. Online tickets now available.

The play is based on the following incident:
Jena, Louisiana: September, 2006 — an African American student sits under the school’s large oak tree, challenging its “whites only” status. The next morning, three nooses are discovered hanging from the tree. School administrators dismiss the incident as a prank. As racial tensions grow, six Jena High students are initially charged with attempted murder as a result of a school fight. The six students wrestle with the causes and consequences of deeply-entrenched injustice. These young people speak openly about the prejudices and fears that stand in the way of their dreams, and find the courage to seek solutions for better life for all.

CLICK HERE for the Information Page containing the complete cast and production staff list.

Below is an article that appeared in the Temple Daily Telegram on January 24, 2019.

Temple Thespians enjoyed their annual Christmas Party on December 21 at the Quiroz home. Theatre activities resume on Tuesday, January 8 at 5:30 p.m. with auditions for the annual UIL One-Act Play.

Temple High School will present A Charlie Brown Christmas — Saturday, December 8 (8 PM) and Sunday, December 9, 2018 (2 PM). There will be only two performances which will take place with the audience seated on the stage with the performers. Cocoa and Christmas Cookies will be served before the show. Tickets $10 in advance, $15 at the door (if still available). Seating will be limited. Audience members must enter through the two blue double doors on the front of the main building, just to the right of the theatre loading dock and to the left of the student center doors. 

Join Charlie Brown (Daniel Salazar), Snoopy (Sierra Amalbert) and the whole Peanuts gang as they grapple with the real meaning of Christmas. When Charlie Brown complains about the overwhelming materialism he sees among everyone during the Christmas season, Lucy (Kerryn Eckenrode) suggests that he become director of the school Christmas pageant. Charlie Brown accepts, but this proves to be a frustrating endeavor. When an attempt to restore the proper holiday spirit with a forlorn little Christmas fir tree fails, he needs Linus’ (Austin Madsen) help to learn what the real meaning of Christmas is.

CLICK HERE for the Information Page that contains a complete cast and production staff list.

NEW 12/09/18:  CLICK HERE for a Facebook Photo Album from a dress rehearsal.

 
Cast members catching snowflakes on their tongues.

Temple High Thespians were very successful during the annual Texas Thespian State Convention, including winning two state championships. The competition was held November 15-17, 2018, at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, TX. There were over 8,200 people attending, including 283 high school and 47 middle school Thespian troupes.

All eight events (100% success) that Temple entered were judged Superior (the highest possible score) and will advance to the International Thespian Festival competition next June in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Both the Team Set Design (Ashlyn Farley, Izzy Poehlmann, Kerryn Eckenrode and D'Andre Wright) and Team Mask Making (Rebecca Alley, Kylie Burke, Olivia Cabrera and Morgan Madsen) teams won the State Championship in their contests. In the team events, students do not know in advance what show or theme they would be designing for, and they had two hours to complete their designs.

Four of the technical entries — Sound (Michael Jones), Costumes (Brianna Alexander), Set Design (Izzy Poehlmann) and Theatre Marketing (Joseph Espinoza) — were all selected as callback finalists to be displayed on the huge video screens during the closing ceremonies. These students went through two rounds of judging.

Izzy Poehlmann won a $1000 scholarship from Texas Thespians and had over 26 callbacks from colleges and universities who were very interested in her and her design talents.

Troupe President Sierra Amalbert was one of only 35 students in Texas selected to perform at the closing ceremonies with Annaleigh Ashford, Tony award winner, who has appeared on Broadway in Wicked (Glinda), Legally Blonde (Margo), Kinky Boots (Lauren) and a revival of You Can't Take It With You.

PHOTOS: CLICK HERE to see a Facebook Photo Album from the state convention.

Temple Thespians will be competing again this year at the Annual Texas Thespian Convention, November 15-17, at the Gaylord Texan Resort Hotel and Convention Center in Grapevine. Contestants in the national contests can advance to the International Thespian Festival, June 24-29, 2019, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Last year, the Texas convention had 7892 people in attendance (students, teachers, and chaperones).

National individual events involving Peter Pan include Scenic Design (Izzy Poehlmann), Theatre Marketing (Joseph Espinoza), Sound Design (Michael Jones), Costume Design #1 (Brianna Alexander) and Lighting Design (Ricardo Fontanez). Costume Design #2 is for Anna Karenina (Morgan Madsen).

National group events include Group Acting #1 with scenes from The Most Massive Woman Wins (Anaiya Harris, Jalilah Brooks, Torrie Culp and Sereniti Patterson), Group Acting #2 with scenes from Art (D'Andre Wright, Anthony Williamson and Austin Madsen) and Group Musical with "The Crime of the Century" from Ragtime (Sierra Amalbert, Rebecca Alley, Kylie Burke, Olivia Cabrera, Kerryn Eckenrode, Jonathan Equels, Dylan Hardy, Seth Little, Erica Lynch, Genevieve Myers, Allison Quiroz, Daniel Salazar and Mimansha Shrestha).

Texas-only events include Team Costume Design (Brianna Alexander, Lauren Bruckbauer, Karelya Palomera and Allison Quiroz), Team Make-Up and Hair Design (Anaiya Harris, Baylee Black, Jonathan Equels and Anthony Williamson), Team Set Design (Ashlyn Farley, Izzy Poehlmann, Kerryn Eckenrode and D'Andre Wright), and Team Mask Making (Rebecca Alley, Kylie Burke, Olivia Cabrera and Morgan Madsen).

The Texas Tech Challenge team includes Simon Juarez, Ashlyn Farley, Caleb Gommert, Dylan Hardy, Michael Rodriquez, Raymond Garcia and Seth Little.

Coordinating the All-Star Troupe Display entry will be Anaiya Harris, Rebecca Alley, Kylie Burke and Izzy Poehlmann. Temple Thespians auditioning for colleges and Texas Thespian scholarships include Sierra Amalbert, Izzy Poehlmann, Rebecca Alley and D'Andre Wright.

Last year, all 10 of Temple's national events received superior ratings and advanced to the international competition. No other troupe in the entire state had that many entries advance. Out of the 280 troupes at last year's convention, Temple was one of 10 schools named an All-Star Troupe. Temple was also named one of the three finalists for the 2016-17 Outstanding Troupe award. Two Temple students received $1000 Texas Thespian scholarships.

SHOWN BELOW are photos from Team Costume Design, Team Mask Making and Team Hair and Make-Up Design for The Wizard of Oz.

Temple Thespian Sierra Amalbert is one of only 35 students in Texas selected to perform at the all-state closing ceremonies during the 2018 Texas Thespian Festival. Sierra will be performing with Annaleigh Ashford, Tony award winner, who has appeared on Broadway in Wicked (Glinda), Legally Blonde (Margo), Kinky Boots (Lauren) and a revival of You Can't Take It With You. Annaleigh also recently guest starred as Fliss on the television show "God Friended Me" and sang in the finale of the "A Very Wicked Halloween" special on NBC, October 29, 2018.

Over 7000 people are expected to attend the closing ceremonies.
Sierra recently portrayed Peter Pan in the Temple High production.

Temple High Thespians have been named a finalist in the Texas Thespian Outstanding Troupe Award competition for 2018-2019. Director Natasha Tolleson was notified on Sunday, November 11. The students must make a 15-minute presentation on Friday, November 15, at the state convention in Grapevine, and must prepare a handout to share with others on "what you do to be so successful."

In addition to Temple, the finalists include Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy, Texas High (Texarkana), The Woodlands High, Carnegie Vanguard High (Houston) and L.D. Bell High (Hurst). Temple was a finalist last year, where 280 troupes attended the convention.