On December 2, 2023, students from St. Thomas Aquinas’ Thespian Troupe 5999 competed in the District 13 Thespian Festival. This festival gives students the opportunity to perform in various theatrical categories including monologues, acting, musical theater, pantomime and theatrical design. Students can show off their talents by designing costumes, sets, marketing campaigns, and other technical categories.
The students who received a score of ‘Superior’ at the Thespian Festival are Alexi Arocho and Kaylee Ramos who performed A Boy Like That I Have a Love – West Side Story. Abril Porcile who performed Everlasting – Tuck Everlasting. Maya Lopez-Ortiz who performed Right Hand Man – Something Rotten and Twelfth Night – William Shakespeare Rapture Blister Burn. Kaylee Ramos who also performed With You – Ghost, the Musical. Heather Johnson who prepared a marketing campaign for The Mousetrap. Alana Rutigliano whose talent was costume construction for Wicked – Stephen Schwartz. Chris Zarn and Mateo Cruz who performed Mushnik and Son – Little Shop of Horrors. Alexi Arocho, Chris Zarn, Cody Straka, Cole Christianson, Mateo Cruz, and Maya Lopez-Ortiz who performed Skid Row – Little Shop of Horrors. Isabella Peralta who performed When He Sees Me – Waitress. Finally, Alexi Arocho, again, for costume makeup for the play, The Mousetrap.
The students who received a score of ‘Excellent’ in the Thespian Festival are Andi Klein, Kelly Induisi, and Mia Palmieri who performed Three Friends – Closer Than Ever. Andi Klein and Mia Palmeri, again, for performing Evil Like Me – Descendants. Kelly Induisi who also performed Crime and Punishment- Marylin Campbell, Kurt Colombus, A Midsummer Night’s Dream – William Shakespeare. Avery Patterson and Mallory McKeon who performed Marry the Man – Guys and Dolls. Mallory McKeon, again, who also performed Goodbye Little Dream Goodbye – Anything Goes. Ava Fowler who performed In My Dreams – Anastasia. Kennedy Zinkler who performed I’ll Be Here – Ordinary Days. Camila Teixeira De Olivera who performed Am I the Problem? Heather Johnson who performed How Did We Come To This – Wild Party. Emma Sanchez whose talent was costume makeup for Alice in Wonderland – Anne Coulter Martens. Alana Rutigliano for costume design of Beauty and the Beast. Ava Fowler and Kenedy Zinkler who performed I Know Him So Well – Chess. Dylan Dagenhardt who performed I love to Eat (a love story with food)- Stay With Me Awhile. Alexi Arocho, Brianna Kruse, Chris Zarn, Cody straka, Chole Christianson, Harley Rojas, Kaylee Ramos, Lucia Brown, Mallory McKeon, Mateo Cruz, and Maya Lopez-Ortiz (Large Group) who performed Skid Row – Little Shop of Horrors. Ivanna Carrero and Victoria Mendez who performed First Time in Forever – Frozen. Harley Rojas and Sienna Robertson who performed A Whole New World – Aladdin. Finally, Cole Christianson and Samuel Mays performed Confrontation – Les Miserables.
Two students received the Critic’s Choice. The Critic’s Choice is given out by the judges to those whom they feel best represent the artistic merits in the room. They are selected
from the highest-scoring students. The students who received the Critic’s Choice are Heather Johnson, a Sophomore, for her marketing design from The Mousetrap, and Alexi Arocho, a junior, for her makeup design for The Mousetrap. Alana Rutigliano received an Honorable Mention for her costume construction from Wicked.
Alexi Arocho said that preparing for the festival was “very stressful coming out of The Mousetrap (for STA), I had a lot on my plate, a lot to prepare with dancing, choreo, and especially with my makeup design.” Alexi adds that she was really surprised when she saw her scores. “I was really happy with my makeup design and my duet. Seeing that I got Critic’s choice was really big for me, I was really proud of myself.” Alana Ruigliano expresses that it “was definitely difficult preparing for multiple pieces.” “All together it took 27 hours to prepare everything including the dress and poster boards.” She also stated that “I was very pleased with my scores as it was my first time participating in the festival.”
Overall, St. Thomas Aquinas High School’s Team scored 11 Superiors and 17 Excellents. The six competitive pieces with the highest scores will be advancing to the StateCompetition in March of 2024. Congratulations to our STA Players!
