G.I. silences the competition

G.I.+silences+the+competition

  With the return of several S.H.S. theater productions since the arrival of COVID, Group Interpretation made its return, along with Contest Play. Both productions are performed before a panel of judges and put out for further competition. 

  Group Interpretation is a 30-minute lead piece that requires the absence of props, change of costume, and scenery. The group uses a sequence of blocks as their set and only one set of costumes. The group must interpret the piece by using their body movements, facial expressions, and shifts in tone in front of a panel of judges. 

  Auditions for this group were held in January; practices followed the schedule of the winter musical. These students would practice Sunday through Thursday for two to three hours. 

  This year the Oscar-winning movie, “CODA” was performed by this group. The piece centers its focus around a teenage girl, Ruby, who is a part of a deaf family; however, she’s not deaf. Her family owns a fishery, it is there where Ruby is relied upon as an interpreter and the family’s ears. The story follows Ruby as she joins the school choir, where she falls in love with music. Throughout the piece, Ruby faces the troubles of balancing her job as an interpreter for her family and pursuing her dreams of going off to college for music, all while the family learns to support. 

  Since “CODA” had sign language, the leads were required to learn the language, as well as the ensemble. This brought forth an interesting challenge between learning foreign hand movements and memorizing the script. 

  Junior Israel Grande expressed, “In the end, it paid off to watch such an amazing reaction from the audience, and their astonishment at the sign language.” 

  A week before the performance and with the challenges of high school schedules, one of the original members was unable to perform at the competition. 

  Luckily junior Emma Stroup stepped up and took the role. Stroup recalled, “It was pretty stressful to memorize the lines and figure out the character’s personality within a few days, but in the end it was super worth it and I had a lot of fun!” With the blessing of the setback reversed, the group headed off to the competition. 

  The 2022 I.H.S.A tournament was held in home territory, Centennial Auditorium. The group performed their Contest Play as well. A series of teams came to compete, but no team was a match for the acting skills of our students. Walking away from the competition with first place, the group began to prepare for state. 

  With the results of the performance, the group decided to put on a show for the public. The group performed their piece in front of Golden Warrior TV and a variety of people from the community. This public performance was held at the auditorium on March 23.

  The state competition was held in Oak Lawn on March 25 and 26. S.H.S performed remarkably well. The theater department never fails to produce a good production. 

  At the conclusion of the competition, the group placed in the top 10; the only teams that placed above them entered the prelims at state. Their hard work paid off, more than expected. Not only did these students maintain the high standard of S.H.S. theater, they upped the bar and set a high expectation for the following years.