Student Thespians Join International Festival

Three students from the Fort Zumwalt School District will travel to Lincoln, NE later this month to take part in an international thespian festival.

April Nigus and Chris Wacker of Fort Zumwalt North and David Amrhein of Fort Zumwalt South are members of the All-State Missouri Cast and Crew that is taking part in the festival, which runs from June 20-25 at the Lied Center of the Performing Arts in Lincoln. Only 10 groups in the nation were selected to perform, and this is the first time the Missouri company has been selected.

"It's been an excellent experience," said Wacker, who recently graduated from Zumwalt North. He plans to attend Truman State University in the fall and major in theater.

Students in the Missouri company represent more than 30 different high schools in the state. Their director is Shayne Daniels, the director of theater at Lee's Summit North High School.

"I've been a troop sponsor with Missouri State Thespians for 16 years," Daniels said.

For the group's 2011 production he chose the musical version of Jekyll and Hyde. It was conceived for the stage by Steve Cuden and Frank Wildhorn with book and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and music by Wildhorn. The show offers a musical take on Robert Louis Stevenson's tale of a man with a chemically induced split personality.

"This is a show I've wanted to do for several years as a director," Daniels said. "The problem, in any high school theater program, is you'll have a handful of students who are able to do it. It's rare to have the talent you need to fill all the roles."

Of course, you don't have that problem when you can choose from among talented and motivated students from across the state.

"We had students audition from all corners of the state," Daniels said. "The audition process took place at the state conference in 2010. We had a few hundred audition."

"I was a little nervous," Whacker said about the auditioning process. "It's a much grander scale. But I was pretty confident."

From the many hopefuls were culled a company of 40-30 cast and 10 crew members. Amrhein, a recent Zumwalt South graduate, wound up doing both.

"I was originally assistant director and stage manager, but for the International Festival someone dropped out, so I ended up in the cast as well," he said. "I had three months to learn this, but I knew the script and I knew the songs."

Amrhein will also attend Truman State and plans to be a theater teacher.

Since the group was spread out, rehearsals had to take place on Saturdays and during a 10-day camp.

"One of the advantages of having the best of the best is they come in with the scripts memorized and ready to work," Daniels said.

The company performed at the state conference in January and based on that performance Jekyll and Hyde was selected for the international conference in Nebraska. The conference is not a competition.

"It's a showcase of the best shows," Daniels said.

"This was an opportunity to direct my dream show and it exceeded my expectations. I'm so proud of the kids."