Oak Grove High School’s Theatre Department recently attended and competed at the annual Mississippi Theatre Association State Festival in Tupelo on  January 14-17.  Schools must pre-qualify to earn the privilege of competing at the state level.  OGHS Drama achieved this by receiving Top 5 Best Production at Drama Fest which was held in December at USM.   Eight high schools earned the opportunity to compete at this level.

The Selkie Girl was the production selected for this competition.   The competition was intense and as always, Oak Grove High School was well represented.  In addition to the drama presentation of The Selkie Girl there were individual events as well as a children’s show.

Noel Anderson received Best Actress and Logan Little was awarded All-Star Cast for this drama performance.  The Water also received special recognition for an outstanding interpretation of the ocean.  Actors in the role of Water were Ashley Thompson, Heather Boutwell, Jessy Palmer, Abbie Odom, Haley Walley, Becca Glaze, Rachel Jackson, and Joleigh Pigott. Alice Through the Looking Glass was Oak Grove’s entry for the Children’s Show category.  Logan Little and Luke Bush both received All-Star Cast for their performances in this category.

Several individual events were held during the festival.  In the Set Design category, Chris Permenter received first place and Amelia Passer received second.  Kristen Zumbro received first place in Costume Design.  In the area of Publicity Design, first place was awarded to Alicia Matlock along with Joleigh Pigot who received second place.  Noel Anderson placed third in Solo Musical while Stephanie Miles and Taylor Nace placed in Duet Musical.  In the Monologues competition, Brennan Kreiger placed second.  In the Duet Acting category, the team of Logan Little and Sara Sanner received first place honors and the team of Abbie Odom and Haley Walley received third.  In the Scene event, first place went to Logan Little, Noel Anderson and Luke Bush.  Victoria Stein, Jessica Palmer, Taylor Nace, and Ashley Thompson received second place in this event.

The drama team took 35 members to MTA.  The work for their show and competition began in August.  Suzanne Allmon, director, who is known to most students as Mrs. A, is proud of the team and their accomplishments. “I am extremely proud of the wins so far, and as they move on to the next competitions, I know they will do just as well,” Allmon said.

The next competition for this group will be at the ITS Conference on February 12 and 13 in Tupelo, MS.  While they are preparing for this competition, the students are also preparing for a Dinner Theatre scheduled for April 8th and 9th at Oak Grove Upper Elementary.

The Oak Grove Drama Department recently debuted their show, The Selkie Girl, a performance based on a Scottish folktale. The cast and crew of The Selkie Girl performed three shows at Oak Grove, selling out each of the three. While selling out their shows at home was quite honorable, nothing could have prepared the students for what was to come at DramaFest, held on December 4th and 5th.

DramaFest was held at the University of Southern Mississippi, and schools from all over the state came to compete. The cast and crew gave their performance on Friday morning, and stayed to watch the remaining shows through Saturday.  The greatest rival of Oak Grove drama, Laurel Christian, performed Friday night. Although
Laurel Christian’s cast gave an admirable performance, their show went over time, meaning they would be withheld from placings or advancing to state championships.

The awards ceremony was held Saturday night, after the judges spent two long days disecting each performance. The drama department advanced to the state championship, alongside Hattiesburg, Ocean Springs, Pearl River Central, and Picayune from the south state competition and Corinth, Lafayette, Olive Branch, Oxford, and Starkville from the north state competition. The team won a variety of sought after awards including the Special Artist Theatre Award and the Glen Menna Overall Merit Award.  Individual awards for Best Director, All-Star Cast, and Best Actress were given to Director Suzanne Allmon, Logan Little, and Noel Anderson.  “It was a very emotional night. Being a part of a truly dedicated department is such an honor; there is nothing else like it. I love Oak Grove Drama,” junior cast member, Sara Sanner, said.