Because of construction in the fine arts section of the building and because the band uses the stage for rehearsals several class periods each day, Temple High Theatre will be performing some shows at alternate locations during this school year.
     The first show will be Wilderness, performed at Meridith-Dunbar Auditorium, October 3-6. The play deals with the true stories of six teenagers with various mental illnesses and other problems. Their parents send them to a wilderness therapy camp where they have to learn to cope with their self-destructive tendencies through learning basic survival skills.
     October will also include an Interactive Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre. Dates and details to be announced.
     The group will attend the annual Texas Thespian Festival November 20-23 in Grapevine. The festival typically includes over 8000 attendees. A shortened edition of the play Wilderness will be performed at the convention. Temple will also compete in various individual and team events. Last year, they won the state championship in team set design and team mask making and were a finalist for Troupe of the Year.
     December 13-14-15 brings A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play, presented on the Temple High stage. The Charles Dickens holiday classic comes to life as a live 1940s radio broadcast, complete with vintage commercials.
     Performances of the comedy Love/Sick will be January 24-26 on the Temple High stage. The play, from the creator of Almost, Maine, is a collection of several slightly twisted and completely hilarious short plays. Every scene is about love, and especially about love's power to make you sick — not only heartsick, but sometimes physically ill.
     Auditions for the annual UIL One-Act Play Contest entry will be January 27 and 28. The first level of competition (zone) will be Saturday, February 29. Last year, Temple advanced through all levels of the contest and, at the state finals, was named 5th in the state out of 254 schools that began the contest in 6A.
     In addition, Mrs. Tolleson is directing several shows for other local theatre organizations. At the Cultural Activities Center, she will direct Eurydice in November and The Diary of Anne Frank in April. Cat of a Hot Tin Roof will be performed in January-February at Temple Civic Theatre.

Temple High Thespian officers participated in one of the regional Texas Thespian Student Leadership Conferences on Saturday, April 10, at Carver Magnet School in Houston.

Front row (from left) includes Kerynn Eckenrode, Lauren Bruckbauer, Mimansha Shrestha, Olivia Cabrera and Kylie Burke. Middle row includes Morgan Madsen and Torrie Culp. Back row includes Ricky Fontanez, Michael Jones, Jonathan Equels, Genevieve Myers, Allie Quiroz, Daniel Salazar and Sereniti Patterson.

Temple High School Thespians participated in "Fish Camp" on August 7 to introduce new incoming students to the theatre arts department. The group will also hold Thespian workdays August 12 and 15. Auditions for the first show of the school year will be Tuesday, August 27.

Thespian officers for 2019-2020 include President Allie Quiroz; Vice President Olivia Cabrera; Secretary Kylie Burke; Treasurers Michael Jones, Torrie Culp and Genevieve Myers; Historians Sereniti Patterson, Kerynn Eckenrode and Ricky Fontanez; Librarians Daniel Salazar and Lauren Bruckbauer; Ambassador Jonathan Equels; Parliamentarian Morgan Madsen; and Photographer Mimansha Shrestha.

MTI (Music Theatre International), one of the world's leading theatrical licensing agencies, featured a rehearsal of Temple's group musical entry from the International Thespian Festival on their Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/mtishows/videos/356667515033436

Temple High School's Thespians have returned from their journey to the International Thespian Festival and Competition in Lincoln, Nebraska. Temple's group musical received a superior (the highest) rating and were one of seven groups called back to audition for a main stage appearance. Sierra Amalbert was awarded a $2000 scholarship from the International Thespian Society.

Temple High Thespians departed Saturday, June 22, for the two-day trip to Lincoln, Nebraska. The group will be attending and competing at the International Thespian Festival, which runs Monday through Saturday. Temple's group musical and group acting will compete on Tuesday morning. Technical events (costumes, scenic design, sound) will compete Wednesday morning. Students will also be auditioning for colleges and competing for scholarships after signing up for a time slot on SignUpGenius. Susan Stroman, Broadway director and choreographer (The Producers, Young Frankenstein, The Scottsboro Boys, Big Fish, Crazy for You) will be at the convention on Thursday.

Temple Thespians will compete at the International Thespian Festival June 24-30 at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. The students competed at the Texas State Festival, held in November 2018, where 100% of Temple contestants advanced to Lincoln with superior ratings.

Individual technical event competitors include Scenic Design (Isabel Poehlmann), Sound Design (Michael Jones) and Costume Design (Brianna Alexander and Morgan Madsen).

Group events include Group Acting 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, Baylee Black, Kylie Burke, Olivia Cabrera, Kerryn Eckenrode, Jonathan Equels, Dylan Hardy, Seth Little, Erica Lynch, Genevieve Myers, Allison Quiroz, Daniel Salazar and Mimansha Shrestha).

Three Temple students will participate in college auditions for the chance to receive admission and scholarships to several prestigious theatre programs. These students include Olivia Cabrera, Torrie Culp and Kerynn Eckenrode. Recent graduates Sierra Amalbert and Isabel Poehlmann will compete for International Thespian Society scholarships.

Last year, the festival had a record-setting attendance of 4500 delegates from 41 states as well as several foreign countries. To make room for more delegates, next year the event will move to Indiana University in Bloomington.

Graduating seniors who attended the end-of-year Thespian Banquet on May 26 are pictured with Mrs. Natasha Tolleson.