At International Thespian Festival, Washburn Rural theater students see their legacy

The lights in the auditorium glowed back on, and for one fleeting moment, the Washburn Rural theater actors and stage crew knew they'd reached a higher plane of performance.

The theater troupe's fall performance of "The Book of Will" had earned them a slot at the Kansas Thespian in the winter, and as actor Casey Schenk closed the book on the First Folio and on the play itself, the auditorium — packed with 2,000 like-minded, high school drama students at the state festival — roared into a standing ovation.

The Washburn Rural students' performance had moved the crowd.

"We were all crying tears of happiness," said Bryana McDaniel, a senior and the play's assistant stage manager. "It was a surreal experience knowing that we got a standing ovation for a show. It made us really happy knowing that we had that much impact."

Even as students first began rehearsing for the "The Book of Will" in early fall 2021, the Washburn Rural theater department knew it had a special kind of potential, between the deep pool of acting talent and technical know-how its students collectively possessed.

But it's a talent that they'll have the chance to showcase on an even bigger stage Thursday, when they perform for the first time in school history at the International Thespian Festival in Bloomington, Indiana.

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How Washburn Rural's theater program built a nationally recognized performance

In the 15 years Maeghan Bishop has been affiliated with it, the Washburn Rural theater program has always produced top-notch performances.

But in the past few years the program has been under her direction, she said the students and theater teachers have worked on getting the program to even greater heights.

The program had developed a stable of top-notch upperclassmen actors, and that led Bishop to choose "The Book of Will" as a challenge and as a chance to show off the students' acting chops. The play retells the story of how two men saved Shakespeare's plays, as originally written, from disappearing in the 17th century.

"One of the big challenges has been guiding these actors, these very young actors, in how to empathize and recreate the experiences of adult characters who are decades older than that," Bishop said. "That is why I think this has turned out to be such a remarkable show — they have knocked that out of the park."

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Normally, for a single show, the students spend countless hours after school memorizing their lines, creating sets and costumes and nailing down the technical choreography for a couple of months ahead of the actual performance. In this instance, the program cast students for "The Book of Will" in early September, with performances in November.

But with Bishop confident in the students' capabilities, she recorded the performance and submitted for adjudication, or consideration for entry to to the Kansas Thespian Festival and the International Thespian Festival.

After they were selected for both, the troupe gave its state performance in January, with an encore community performance in April to raise funds to travel to Indiana this month.

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In 'The Book of Will,' Washburn Rural theater deals with legacy

For being a play about William Shakespeare, the playwright's name is not often mentioned throughout its performance.

Rather, it focuses heavily on the dedication of two of Shakespeare's closest friends to ensure that their friend's memory lives on untarnished. The play weaves in deep themes of friendship, legacy and dealing with loss.

The Washburn Rural students' ability to capture that, then, shows talent years above their actual ages, Bishop said.

"I think a lot of them would say that they're motivated by the show itself," Bishop said. "They love this script. They love these characters. They've gotten so close to as close as a cast and  crew. They still love working with each other."

"It’s a love letter to theater," said Aidan Kent, the graduated senior who played Henry Condell. "It’s a love letter to the arts. It reminds us not only what it means to stand up here and perform, but also to appreciate theater for what it is."

In Indiana, the Washburn Rural theater troupe will be one of just six schools around the country invited to perform at the International Thespian Festival. The festival won't be a competition, but rather a showcase of some of the country's most elite high school theater programs.

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Before their Thursday afternoon performance, the students will also have the chance to attend workshops led by industry experts and professors at some of the country's most prestigious college and university drama programs.

"We’re going to get to be around hundreds of kids from all over America who have this shared love for theater, and making connections through that and spreading this story to more people — I’m just so excited for this experience," McDaniel said.

Casey Schenk, the graduated senior who played John Heminges, said attending the festival will be the students' opportunity to leave their legacy at the school.

But more importantly, it's a chance to continue making an impression with people through a shared love of storytelling and theater.

"Theater is not just about standing in the spotlight, and it’s not about you or the actors on the stage," Schenk said. "It’s about the feeling that you give the audience, and what they take out of it. It’s not about the performer; it’s about the watcher.

Rafael Garcia is an education reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at rgarcia@cjonline.com. Follow him on Twitter at @byRafaelGarcia.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Washburn Rural theater students act at International Thespian Festival