Cypress Woods High School theatre students won three Thespy Awards and received numerous superior ratings at the International Thespian Festival, held June 20-24 at Indiana University Bloomington. Cypress Woods was the only high school to win three Thespy Awards at the 2022 contest.
July 12, 2022—Numerous theatre students from Cypress Ranch and Cypress Woods high schools won Thespy Awards and were recognized at the International Thespian Festival (ITF), held June 20-24 at Indiana University Bloomington.
The International Thespian Festival is a weeklong conference that invites thousands of high school theatre students from across the globe to participate in various competitions, audition for college scholarships, watch theatre productions and attend multiple workshops taught by industry leaders, among other activities. The Thespy Awards conclude the festival.
The following students won Thespy Awards:
Cypress Ranch
- Maximilian Bloom, Thomas Boyce, Isabella Bozo, Adam Clark, David Conner, Daphne Garza, Nathan Hale, Saybo Lloyd, Nneoma Mgboji, Avery Payne, Ava Truan and Makayla Wright – Group Acting.
Cypress Woods
- Megan Croom – Scenic Design;
- Megan Janger – Makeup Design; and
- Angel Bray-Chmielowiec – Stage Management.
Cypress Ranch High School’s group acting crew won a Thespy Award and superior rating for Group Acting at the International Thespian Festival, held June 20-24 at Indiana University Bloomington. The group’s performance of Epic Proportions was also selected to perform at the Thespy Awards closing ceremonies, one of 12 performances selected from more than 1,000 entries.
The following students were recognized at the Thespy Awards with superior ratings in their respective categories:
Cypress Ranch
- Maximilian Bloom, Thomas Boyce, Isabella Bozo, Adam Clark, David Conner, Daphne Garza, Nathan Hale, Saybo Lloyd, Nneoma Mgboji, Avery Payne, Ava Truan and Makayla Wright – Group Acting;
- Trinity Smith, CJ Friend, Hope Vanderburg, Timi Odufuye, Dillon Fitzgerald, Hannah Vinas, Isabelle Harris, Madalina Velasquez, Landon Rouse, Makenzie Woolridge and Emily Childs – Group Musical Theatre;
- Trey Fitt, Trevin Gatto, Logan Hardin, Gabriella Brugno, Hailey Logan and Gabriel Lopez – Group Musical Theatre; and
- Kylie Jowers – Solo Musical Theatre.
Cypress Woods
- Kathleen Rodriguez – Costume Construction;
- Emily Hacking – Costume Design;
- Alexis Brazil – Lighting Design;
- Megan Janger – Makeup Design;
- Erin Doyle – Solo Musical Theatre;
- Maya Dresslar – Solo Musical Theatre;
- Megan Croom – Scenic Design; and
- Angel Bray-Chmielowiec – Stage Management.
“It was a great honor for our students to be showcased and have the opportunity to be among the top design students at ITF,” said Toby Drake, Cypress Woods head theatre director. “I am so proud of their commitment to creating superior work for our company. Their work from multiple shows from this past season was selected to be showcased. I am so proud of their superior work in the Thespy competition.”
Cypress Ranch senior Alec Anderson received an excellent rating for his solo musical performance of “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables.
In addition, students from both Cypress Ranch and Cypress Woods were selected for performance opportunities. Cypress Ranch’s Group Musical Theatre and Group Acting winners were selected to perform in the Thespy Awards closing ceremonies, where only 12 performances were selected from more than 1,000 entries. Cypress Woods senior Nicole Howard was selected to perform in the Playworks presentation of four new plays written by students for ITF and Cypress Woods senior Erin Doyle was selected to perform in The 24 Hour Plays, where students write, direct and perform short plays within 24 hours.
“We feel honored to have been able to attend, compete and perform on the world’s largest stage,” said Cheryl Bradford, Cypress Ranch head theatre director. “I am so extremely proud of all of the hard work, sacrifice, gifts and talents of our theatre students at Cypress Ranch.”
