SHS claims third at district drama competition

COEUR d'ALENE — Over 200 young and aspiring thespians recently gathered at Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy to see whose show will go onto state.

Held Nov. 19, participating students from 10 different District I and II high schools competed in 14 different events that fall into one of two main categories — acting and technical.

At the end of the day, Coeur d'Alene High School took first overall, with hosting Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy and Sandpoint High School coming in second and third, respectively.

Coeur d’Alene High theater director Jared Helm was proud of all 54 students that he brought with him to districts.

“District drama went well this year,” he said. “I continue to be inspired and impressed with the work in our region. My students and I focus on goodwill, generosity and kindness as we prepare, and they did all of those things with grace and dignity, making me a proud coach. They work to create art that inspires and moves the audience, and together they did that.”

Lake City High theater instructor Dan Bell and Post Falls High School drama teacher Payton Edmonds explained that acting events include both solo and ensemble performances. These performances can be musical, humorous, serious, pantomime or solo auditions.

On the technical side, students can compete in events such as scene design, costume design, makeup and prop creation.

Actors go through three rounds in the day, while technical competitors only do one.

Each performance has its own specifications that a judge or judges, who are local individuals involved in the theater community, will use to assign a final rank and score. The performers or performances are assigned a 1-4 rank, with 1 being best, and a score from 1 to 10, with 10 being a perfect score.

“They judge them based on their acting, their blocking, how they move around, their voice, their variety," Bell said. “They’re encouraged not to judge them based on just their costume or set.”

The top third of all entries in each competition qualify for state. Students are allowed to compete in a max of either two acting events and one technical, or two technical and one acting.

The first-place district finish of CHS sets the stage for the school and Helm to host the 2022 state drama competition this coming weekend.

Today and Saturday, drama students from over 60 Idaho schools will gather at CHS for a chance to step into the state championship spotlight. Held every five years in North Idaho, Helm is looking forward to not only hosting the tournament for the third time in the last 15 years, but also to hopefully adding to CHS' 10-year 5A state champion streak.

“I love seeing all the students take over the high school space for performance,” he said. "It is a beautiful event that helps the students come together from across the state and inspire each other to continue working on their craft both in and out of school.”

The Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy drama team, led by theatre arts teacher Dana Fleming, will also compete in the state tournament to defend its streak of winning the 3A title for the last three years.

Visit www.idhsaa.org/drama for information on the 2022 Idaho High School Drama State Championships.

Visit www.tabroom.com for individual results from the recent District I and II competition.