Since 2019, the Southwest Florida Theatrical Society (SWFTS) has organized annual theater competitions for thespians throughout the Southwest Florida area. SWFTS is divided over two days. The first day is the One-Act, where students perform One-Act from a play or musical. The second day is Individual Events, where individuals or small ensembles perform.
This year, Cypress Lake brought “Lord of the Flies” as its One-Act and sent 36 individual events to the SWFTS competition. The “Lord of the Flies” performance was received very well, earning straight superiors and perfect tech scores, as well as winning Best Tech. Two students were given special recognition. Gigi Lieze-Adams was given special recognition as Student Director, while Reagan Fournier was given special recognition for Stand-Out Performance. For the individual events, 23 received superior ratings, while seven received Excellent ratings. Panther Theatre Company Director Carmen Crussard remarks, “I counted out 126 superior ribbons and 21 Excellent ribbons when all was said and done… I am super proud of these kiddos. They represented us well!”
When we asked students about their experiences at SWFTS, emotions were mixed. Many were disappointed that our school did not win as many awards as in years prior. CLHS Junior Reagan Strachan said, “I performed better this year because I knew what I was going to be walking into, and I was able to do it with confidence… It is less of a competition for me and more of a community building event.”
When asked about the slightly lower award count compared to previous years, she said “I think that the best-in-rooms and superiors we were given this year compared to last year truly has to do with the fact that it just wasn’t our year… There are so many talented performers at other schools and it can make the judge’s choice very difficult. I think that our scoring this year doesn’t have to do with our talent becoming lesser, but more to do with the fact that other schools are growing their own talent.”
Overall, we should be very proud of our theatre department’s wins this year and are looking forward to an even greater success next year.