On Dec. 11, Thespians showed off their talents at Florida’s District 8 Thespians Festival competition at the Miami Airport Convention Center.

The actors managed to wow the judges and get some of the highest scores in this year’s competition. According to the performers, it’s a long process that hasn’t been easy. At the end of September, students began the process of signing up for the categories they wanted to participate in. The auditions required a one minute performance of what the actors planned to take to competition. Many freshmen and sophomores jumped at the opportunity to showcase their talent in person.

“We have a lot of talented freshmen,” commented theater teacher Jessica Fox, who said she loved watching them perform.

There is only a limited number of slots for each category, and this year there was an overwhelming number of students who wanted to participate. For solo musicals, each school is limited to three spots, and this year 14 stuents auditioned. 

“We were backtracked when we saw everyone acting after not having been in person. It was so much more natural,” junior Esther Enekes said about the audition process and seeing others perform in districts. 

Once they were at the competition, the students were scored by a panel of judges looking for different criteria. The performances can get a total of 90 points and are then scored as superior, excellent, good, fair, or poor. The top scores of the competition earn top honors. This year three of the performances received top honors, and one was asked to open for state competition.

“I feel very proud because we put in a lot of work, and getting top honors really makes it worth it,” said senior Ned Bannon. “I am very excited about opening for states because it will be the biggest crowd I’ve ever had, and that makes it a new and exciting experience.”

Each school that got superior is limited to take six scenes to states. According to Fox, going through the process of narrowing down the students who will go to states is always the most challenging part. Fox says the decision is usually done to benefit as many students as possible. For example, the large group, which is a performance of 14 students, would be one of the scenes to go to states as lots of actors will be able to perform and experience the large competition.