After school on Jan. 10, 34 FHN Thespians in Troupe 4956 left to attend the Missouri State Thespian Conference. The conference was held at the Marriott Grand Hotel and the America Center in Saint Louis, MO. While at the conference students had the opportunity to buy clothing and make up, among other things, from vendors, go to classes and participate in competitions.

“They can go watch one act plays,” Director of Theater Arts, Kim Sulzner said. “They can go to workshops on directing, acting or playwriting or costumes, makeup and props.”

Some of the competitions students could participate in ranged from Improv Olympics to a technical challenge and even a musical performance, where performers could be evaluated by a panel of judges. Junior Sarah Maye and sophomore Dan Sommer performed in a duet musical performance. Maye put herself on vocal rest before they left for the conference in an effort to conserve her voice.

“I was really unsatisfied with how I did,” Maye said. “I could have done a lot of things better and I was losing my voice before the convention, so I was doing all I could to preserve my vocals and it didn’t really work.”

Other groups that participated included FHN’s improv team and a team that competed in the tech challenge held. FHN’s improv team averaged a score of excellent, which is one step below the highest score of superior. The team scored four excellent’s and one superior. The team that competed in the tech challenge came in fifth place overall out of 30 different teams. Troupe 4956 also received the Honor Troupe award, to get it they had to make a presentation about the activities they had done throughout the last school year.

“We averaged a score of excellent, which is one place below the highest score you can receive,” junior Riley Lawson said. “[Some advice I received] had to do with the very basics of improv, like what you have to do, like ‘Make the ordinary, extraordinary and the extraordinary, ordinary.’”