Rivals Under the Same Flag

A group of FHS theatre students have headed to Gatlinburg for the weekend. No, we’re not talking about a ski trip to Ober.

They’re entered in one of the more prestigious theatre competitions, the Smoky Mountain, in Gatlinburg. Technically, competitive theatre is called ‘forensics.’ When I used to consider the word ‘forensics,’ I would think of CSI-type stuff but I guess the word has two definitions (kind of like ‘bread.’ You know there’s…bread – as the opening piece and closing piece for sammitches and then there is the 1970s slang term, ‘bread’ which means money…see also ‘dough’).

Clearly, I’m off track already and it only took two paragraphs. Must be the rainy night. Time to focus.

Seriously, I’ve learned a lot about theatre during Paul’s four years in high school. I knew none of this, for example, back when he took to the FHS stage for the first time, as a freshman, in the role of The Artful Dodger.

This weekend’s competition gives some current freshmen - and upperclassmen as well - a chance to hone their performances before they go to district competition next month. Kudos to FHS theatre teachers Lea McMahan and David Crutcher – who already spend so many hours supporting these talented young performers – for devoting this weekend to allowing them to experience competitive theatre.

A total of 11 FHSers are competing. I asked Paul for the run-down and he gave me an exhaustive list. And many of the categories – as is the case in some many other walks of life – have abbreviations. When he says, “D.I.,” for example, I think of Holly’s days of competing in Destination Imagination. When he says, “H.I.,” I think of “Health Initiatives,” from my days at ACS.

I’m pretty sure he told me there are students competing in “D.I.” and “H.I.” (Dramatic Interpretation and Humorous Interpretation).

Anyway, he was giving me the run down. This person is competing in A, B and C; next person is doing D, E, F. Person 1 and Person 2 are doing a duet. So are 3 and 4. And so on and so forth. Many FHSers are actually competing in the same events – Rivals Under the Same Flag, as it were.

I don’t think they see it that way, honestly.

Paul will be trying his best to do his best but he will also root for his teammates as well. The others seem to have the same supportive spirit. That’s one of the fascinating and heartwarming aspects of watching these students up close. The competitive element pushes them want to do better and to hone their craft but no one is self-centered about it. They all want to raise the profile of FHS theatre and the bar for future students coming behind them.

It’s great to see all these seniors, for example, reaching out to all the freshmen to make them feel welcome and to pass on their knowledge.

So, starting tonight, the preliminary rounds begin in the various categories ranging from impromptu speaking to storytelling to duet acting. The Farragutters are well represented in those categories and many more.

They will certainly want to bring home some hardware come Saturday when the competition closes. I will try to write an update after the competition (and will send news releases to the media along w/ pics if possible).

It’s a great group of seniors anchoring the group with strong juniors, sophomores and freshmen as well. I won’t be the least bit surprised if they are celebrating some ‘w’s’ come Saturday night.

JG

Originally posted 2/21/2013