Normally, my posts on Sunset Media Wave would consist of videos, and well… that’s it. But as I experience new things throughout my own high school journey, I find that I am able to articulate my experiences in a better way through written word as opposed to the spoken one. As such, Busy Buddies will take a more personal approach in my column, as I document my very own sightings through both video and text!
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The Ohlone High School Theatre Festival is a two-day festival event in which high-school thespians from all around the state compete in a plethora of theater competitions. The categories range from ten-minute length musicals to monologues to ensemble skits to ten minute one-act plays! Within these many categories, Westmoor (my high school) has a tradition of entering both the MAXI and MINI. A MAXI is a category in which a cast of eleven or more perform a ten-minute medley of a Broadway musical. A MINI is the same thing, only with ten people or less.
From Westmoor, we entered the musical Rent as our MAXI and Little Shop of Horrors as our MINI. As I wasn’t part of Westmoor’s spring production of Rent, I performed alongside my friends in the MINI. Unfortunately, we did not advance to the finals. Nevertheless, performing on one of the biggest stages I’ve been in and showcasing my passion for theater was worth it. On a much brighter note, Rent advanced to the finals, and even brought in our very first trophy in three years. As a public school in the middle of nowhere that competes largely against schools of the arts, this was a big accomplishment for us.
Bringing in the third place trophy brought major joy to myself and everyone in my school. Although only being third, even placing meant a huge deal to us as we were known to be the underdogs of the competition. Winning aside, Ohlone is one of the best things I’ve done in high-school. I joined theater my freshman year, and while it was fun, I can’t say I’ve enjoyed every bit of putting on productions. On the other hand, Ohlone is a whole different story. Coming together on a college campus to compete against many others who share our love for musicals is surreal. It felt like a movie scene from Akeelah and the Bee, or like the snippets when Peter Parker competed in the academic decathlon in Spider-Man, except in real life!
Beats in the video via slowya_roll.
