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Success gives River Ridge High thespians a sense of accomplishment

 
Winners of the Critic’s Choice award for Small Group Musical do a run through of A Beat Behind from The Goodbye Girl.
Winners of the Critic’s Choice award for Small Group Musical do a run through of A Beat Behind from The Goodbye Girl.
Published Feb. 25, 2015

NEW PORT RICHEY — When 50 River Ridge High School students attended the District 12 Florida Thespian Festival on Dec. 13, they participated in 37 events and scored 33 superior ratings, four excellents and five Critic's Choice awards. Yet, in the eyes of the students, the refined skills and sense of accomplishment they took away from the event was a reward in itself.

"It was the best day of my life so far," said junior Taylor McGlynn, who along with best friend Kayla Rodriquez garnered a Best in District honor in the Duet Acting category for Of Mice and Men, and alone won a Best Cameo honor.

"I want that feeling over and over again," McGlynn said.

He said that, before discovering the dramatic arts, he always felt a degree of social awkwardness as "the tall, overweight kid." Then, after studying drama in middle school, he found himself playing a lead role in the iconic coming-of-age drama The Outsiders. And, along with Rodriguez, he will represent District 12 at the opening ceremonies of the Florida State Thespian Festival.

"Ever since I was little, I was quite dramatic. My sister and I would go around quoting lines from movies," said Rodriguez, 17, who, along with classmates Kristen Rodriquez, Alec Kreger, Abigail Brazier, Caleb Brenning and Truman Buske, also scored an honorable mention in the Pantomime category at the festival.

"In drama, I learned discipline — practicing a scene over and over again and fixing what needs to be fixed," she said. "I also learned to trust and rely on my scene partners, and, in this case, my best friend really came through for me."

Mike Mekus, a River Ridge student who won Critic's Choice honors for Solo Musical and, along with Katie Miesner, for Duet Musical, as well as an honor for All Star Cast, agrees that hard work and dedication are the keys to thespian success.

"It's all about the time and effort," said Mekus, 17, who in addition to his high school drama training has had vocal training at Ruth Eckerd Hall. "What you put into it is what you get out of it."

According to Diana Rogers, a Broadway veteran who teaches drama at River Ridge High, her students put a lot into their preparation for both their everyday drama classes and the festivals. After studying and rehearsing pieces from Of Mice and Men, Heathers: the Musical, The Goodbye Girl and Amazing Grace since the beginning of the school year, students are now rehearsing a scholastic production of Into the Woods, along with preparing for the Florida State Thespian Festival, scheduled March 25 to 29 in Tampa.

"These kids are always working," said Rogers. "They've caught my passion for what I love to do."

One of those passionate students is Elizabeth Morgan, a 17-year-old senior who, even though she's long enjoyed dance, said, "I never thought I could sing."

But at the district festival, Morgan, president of River Ridge's drama club, won Critic's Choice honors for Small Group Musical, along with classmates Grace Morgan, Connor Evering, Dezzie Sala and Abigail Braizier, and Large Group Musical honors with Grace Morgan, Chris Cavazza, Cristos Kostogiannes, Ben Bailey, Rebecca Douglas, Jonah Laird, Tom DeCanio and Abigail Brazier. In addition, a Best Prompt Book honor went to Grace Morgan, and a River Ridge thespians one-act performance earned Superior in Performance and Superior in Tech awards.

Ben Bailey and Rebecca Douglas also won an honorable mention in the Duet Musical category. Both students discovered their love for drama at an early age, with Rebecca falling in love with the Wicked soundtrack in middle school and Ben emulating movie heroes.

"I saw the Spider-Man movie as a child and tried to walk up the walls at home," said Bailey, 17.

While the students say that the self-confidence and presentation skills they have learned in drama will prepare them for a variety of careers — their plans range from acting to engineering — they've all learned one common lesson:

"Entertaining is a lot of fun," said Abigail Braizier, 16. "This is what I want to do with my life."