Troupe SpotlightUnder the direction of Troupe Director Allen Price, Patuxent High School Troupe #6194 has set the bar high year after year. During the 2022 Maryland State Festival, the Harlequins, as they are known, were chosen as the Chapter Select for Maryland Thespians in the one-act competition. Their production of Love, Loss, and What I Wore received high praise from both judges and students. This past June, the troupe had the pleasure of performing its show at the International Thespian Festival at the University of Indiana in Bloomington. The Harlequins were ecstatic to win. “It was absolutely surreal,” said senior Natalie Shipman. I mean, it’s still hard to believe … It was also really rewarding in a sense … because of all our hard work and the message that we were trying to spread really resonated with people.” Sophomore Grace Gallagher said they thought the experience was very fulfilling. “We had put so much effort and time into Love Loss and What I Wore that it became a source of pride for me to be a part of the production,” Gallagher said. “As someone who hadn't been in a show in years, to be part of a show that won something of that title in my freshman year, it felt extraordinary.” The Harlequins’s show really stood out with the audience. Junior Hermes Johns thinks that’s because of the overall connectivity they had with everyone in the seats. “Monologues, in general, can absolutely invoke a stark connection with viewers. But (there’s something to be said about) having a direct connection through stories that many AFAB (Assigned Female at Birth) people can relate to and even briefly opening up a tender vulnerableness with the audience with members sharing men who’ve wronged them, a favorite artist, a favorite singer, and even their own personal experience with harassment or sexual assault.” “I think it was the audience interaction,” said senior Rose Winter. “The whole show was sort of shaped by the audiences choices; they got to feel like they were part of it too, at least a little bit.” The Harlequins were the first to admit preparing for the show was no simple feat. “We started working on the piece in June of 2021 with no idea of how we were gonna do it,” said Shipman. “Because there were so many individual parts to this show, we had time to work and tweak those bits while having time to think about the best way to put the parts together.” “We eventually settled on our ‘this-or-that’ style show, but we probably wouldn't have even had that idea if we didn't have time to think creatively about how to compose the show. And with a piece as experimental as ours there were struggles, but without those struggles our show wouldn't (have been) as strong as it turned out to be in the end.” Being announced as the Chapter Select for Maryland Thespians put The Harlequins through a wide range of emotions. From shock and disbelief to excitement, the only consistent was a lot of happy tears. “It was definitely a delayed reaction for me,” said senior Julia Atwell. “I had realized we won, I even held the trophy, but I was still waiting for something. I felt like I wasn’t finished with the show yet and we still had more to do.” “I'm going to be completely honest. Nothing was going through my head when they announced who won chapter select,” said senior Ella Ulrey. “I think I was just standing there, crying. I just knew I was happy. It was so unbelievable. I don't think I fully registered it until a few days later.” While The Harlequins were at the Festival, they had time to students from other parts of the country, see shows from other schools, and soak in the surrounds. “My favorite part of Festival was the people we met,” said senior Brooke Baney, who also received a superior rating, along with senior Zach Leclerc, for their duet scene Thespy. “We met theater kids from all parts of the country, from California to Florida. I saw my STO friends from Maryland, and got to talk to some amazing teachers and college professors. I loved being surrounded by people who have the same passion for performing as I do.”
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