Whiz Kids: Dunedin Thespians Earn Six 'Superior' Ratings at State Level

Whiz Kids of the Week

• Name and Age: Dunedin High School International Thespian Society
• School:

Whiz Kids' Accomplishment: About 20 DHS drama students showcased their skills at the Florida State Thespian Festival at the Tampa Bay Convention Center from March 17 through 19. The aspiring actors brought home the group's highest cumulative ratings ever.

Key to Awesomeness: The International Thespian Society, which is sort of an honor society for thespians, performed at one of the biggest state conference for thespians in the world. An estimated 15,000 attend.

“We brought home the most ‘superiors’ than we’ve ever had before,” said DHS senior Corin Davidson, International Thespian Society president.

Students had to qualify at the district level with “superior” ratings before they could qualify to attend the state conference and competition. At the Thespian Festival, students were rated in nine categories, including costume construction, monologue, solo musical, costume design, duet musical and small group musical. Dunedin students brought home six superior ratings, which is the highest possible on a superior-to-good scale.

Here’s the breakdown of how the students fared:

• Junior Peter Bernard received a "superior" rating in for his monologue.
• Katie Colin earned a "superior" rating for her costume construction of Cleopatra's dress from “Anthony and Cleopatra.” The professional who built the dress that inspired Katie's dress happened to judge the event. He said her attention to detail surpassed his own.
• Keegan Lee and Adam Zeph earned a "superior" rating for their hilarious duet musical performance of “Ballad of Guitteau” from “Assassins.”
• Senior Tabitha Murphy earned a "superior" rating for her costume construction from “Imaginary Invalid.” Troupe Director Gerald Durst said that her costume was so well-built that judges were checking to see if she really made it herself.
• Junior Joe Nash earned a "superior" rating for his costume design from “Hairspray the Musical.”
• Peter Bernard, Adam Zeph, Joe Nash, Jacob Given, Ben Given, Leanard Merchant, and Tim Gentile earned a "superior" rating for their small group musical performance of “Real Live Girl” from “Little Me.” It was the first small group musical that Troupe Director Gerald Durst has ever taken to the state level.
• Senior Corin Davidson received an “excellent” rating for her student-directed scene from “Boeing Boeing, A Farce.” Her showing marks the first time DHS has qualified for state in the category.
• Senior Brooke Evans earned a "good" rating for her solo musical performance of “Adelaide’s Lament” from “Guys and Dolls.”
• Senior Harold Castaneda earned a "good" rating for his monologues.

Know a great kid who made Eagle Scout or did your local soccer team take the championship? They could be our next Patch Whiz Kid honoree. Nominate your Whiz Kid by emailing editor Katie Dolac at Kathryn.Dolac@patch.com.