The Huntley Project High School drama team won the state Class B drama tournament on Saturday. HP hosted the State B-C Tournament, which included 337 competitors from 47 schools. The photo includes students who competed in drama, speech and debate events.(photo courtesy of Billie Schaff)
Worden — Talk about a home court advantage. The Huntley Project High School drama team members used their school over the weekend to take them to their first State Class B championship.
Huntley Project Schools hosted the Class B-C state tournaments for speech and drama on Friday and Saturday. The event drew 337 competitors from 47 schools.
Three HP students were individual champions.
Senior Andi Crane won the Memorized Public Address category, performing a Ted Talk by Maysoon Zayid. In this performance, Crane impersonated Zayid, a comic and actress with cerebral palsy.
Tyler Schaff and Peyton Thornburgh won the Classical Duo category, performing a humorous skit by George S. Kauffman, “If Men Played Cards as Women Do.” Each performed the parts of two different characters gathering at one’s home for a card game.
The drama team had won the divisional tournament at Shepherd the week before. The speech team, runners-up at divisionals, placed fifth at state.
“I’m just extremely proud of them,” Coach Becky Nay told the Huntley Project student body at a school assembly Wednesday morning, when the trophies were presented. Members of the speech and drama team carried into the gym every trophy they received during the season, which started in October. That’s a lot — the drama team won seven tournaments and placed third once during the regular season, while the speech team notched six first-place tournament trophies and placed third twice.
“We have had a very shiny season,” Nay said, gesturing to the line of trophies in the hands of HP speakers.
It’s the first state championship for the speech, drama and debate teams, and Nay is looking forward to hanging a championship banner on the wall of the gym.
“This program is unique,” Nay said at the assembly. “It’s one of a kind.”
From October through January, students practice regularly, do independent research and compete every Saturday for up to eight hours at a time, she said.
Dedication paid off, she said, and the school put 12 competitors in the top eight at state. Read full story on the Yellowstone County News here.
