The curtain falls as the light focuses on the glimmering actors on the stage as the audience sits in awe and anticipation for the upcoming act.    Our ACP Knights have always performed an outstanding job with every play being distinctly different from the other. Some of our beloved actors have taken the next step to test their acting skills and have joined the International Thespian Society (ITS). The ITS goes to various competitions and compete in solo and duo acts. They recently went to the Central Arizona Festival of Theatre (CAFT) and won in many categories that qualified them to compete at the National level this summer! The qualifiers are as follows:

Ellie Takeuchi in Solo Musical.

• Ellie received two perfect scores, which is very uncommon!

Natasha Will and Amanda Wolford in Duo Acting.

• Natasha and Amanda received one perfect score!

Sam Rojas and Amanda Wolford in Monologues.

In order to qualify, you have had to receive either three Superior rankings, or two Superior rankings or one Excellent ranking. All of the above Knights did exactly that allowing them to perform at Nationals. Congratulations to all of them and everyone who participated at CATF! To learn more about ITS and their passion for acting, I spoke to one of our amazing qualifiers: Sam Rojas!

Q: What monologue did you perform?

A: I performed monologues from Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare and Pretty Theft by Adam Szymcowicz.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about being in the International Thespian Society?

A: I love all of the opportunities and events that arise by just simply being a part of it. You don’t really need a huge resume to participate once you’re in either. You also get really cool magazines in the mail, which I enjoy very much.

Q: Could you explain the ranking system?

A: We are judged on a scale from one (fair) to four (superior) for five different categories. These categories include our acting transitions, characterization, voice, movement/staging, and the overall execution in creating a believable character.

Q: How did you all celebrate these amazing wins?

A: We congratulated each other and carried on to other projects with the idea that we’re going to keep improving, learning, and having fun no matter what.

Q: What’s your favorite aspect of theater?

A: I love being challenged to portray a role to the best of my abilities. Sometimes I’ll be working on a character and realize that portraying them will be a little difficult and so my mind starts to work really hard to find a way that I can best display their character, incentives, and feelings while also being confident in the route that I choose to portray them.

Q: What is one character that you would love to play in any production?

A: I would love to play any of the women in Chicago or as Gomez in The Addams Family.

Q: What’s your favorite type of muffin?

A: I love a good blueberry muffin!

I would like to thank Sam for answering all of my questions and sharing a bit about your love for theatre. Theatre is a lovely activity that allows you to step away from yourself and express your creative side in an unique way. Like Sam said, it’s easy to join ITS, so if you want to try out a more advanced form of theater, I highly encourage you to join. Remember to strive for impossible and be extraordinary!