Troupe 3140 Takes On Florida State Thespians

Shorecrest's Troupe 3140 (Co-sponsors Cheryl Lee and Bill Leavengood '78) were thrilled by a week at Florida State Thespians, both by the experience and the results! Keep in mind, with over 8000 artsy students around, this is the most competitive Thespian festival in the world!

The Jimmy Award, named for famed Broadway producer and award sponsor James Nederlander, is given to one girl and one boy in the state of Florida. To qualify: first, your mainstage musical must be selected (Mainstage refers to complete full-length productions of shows which are invited by a committee of judges to present at the State Festival). Then, a committee who has seen the selected productions at the various schools, nominates a total of four boys and four girls as finalists. Next, another committee reviews the shows at the Florida State Thespian Festival and selects single winners. This year's female Jimmy Award winner was senior Kylie Heyman '15.

Kylie and the other Jimmy Award winners (2 from each state that has a Thespian Festival) receive air travel and lodging for a week in New York City where they attend workshops, classes and Broadway shows and also rehearse for a performance presented in a Broadway Theatre.

Kylie also sang her solo musical number, "Avalanche", in the Critic's Choice Showcase at Opening Ceremonies, which featured the single events selected by each of the 15 districts to represent them at States.

Shorecrest has only received one Critic's Choice at the State level in the 20 years I have been here. This year, we received two, in Playwriting A (Thursday) and Playwriting B (Friday), thus sweeping the category. Congratulations to seniors Alice Darrow '15 and Savannah Pearson '15.

Friday, it took 4 large trucks to load in and rebuild the set for ANYTHING GOES, and the students and many of their parents were incredibly helpful throughout the process, erecting the set (along with the pros from Tandova, Inc and the Straz Center) in less than 3 hours and striking it in less than two hours.

Our performance of ANYTHING GOES at Morsani Hall was a huge hit, receiving TWO standing ovations from the crowd of over 2,500, both at intermission and during bows. We received a Superior rating from the State judges, the highest rating possible.

Our One-Act, SPACEHUNTER, received an Excellent - as they had some issues about our tech and design, but the judges gushed about our performers and especially the star of the one-act, senior Jake Szasz '15, who they said was already acting at the professional level well beyond his years.

In Individual Event Competition, we received Superiors for Heyman & Company's Large Group Musical Number, BLOW, GABRIEL; seniors Lauren B and Kylie H's Duet Musical: NOWADAYS/HOT HONEY RAG; senior Kylie H's Solo Musical, AVALANCHE, and sophomores Mario G and Libby H's Duet Acting Scene from 10% of Marta Solano. We received Excellents for seniors Kyle M's Monologues and senior Matthew J's play.

It was an unforgettable week for everybody involved. Thank you to all the directors, designers, parents, performers and crew that made it all happen. And thank you to Janet Root and the Shorecrest admin team for allowing us to undertake this massive project!!