TEMPLE, Texas — The Temple High School Theatre Arts Department won its 30th consecutive district UIL One-Act Play championship on Thursday (March 10). The department’s production of “Men On Boats” extended the program’s winning streak at the contest held at Harker Heights High School.
The district championship not only extends Temple High School’s streak to 30 consecutive titles, but the program has now won the district One-Act Play contest 30 times in Natasha Tolleson’s 31 years as director of the program. Temple also won several individual awards to go with the production’s overall title. Natalie Greenfield was named Best Actress. Alivea Johnson was named to the All-Star Cast. Brinley Belson was named to the Honorable Mention All-Star Cast and Janice Cody was named to the All-Star Technical Crew.
“Every year it is such an honor and such a privilege to be able to work with such talented kids like we have in our program here,” Tolleson said. “Thirty years is a remarkable number, but each year is different, and we try to find ways to work to the strengths of the students we have in our program that year. We are excited to win district again and it is a real credit to the kids we have in our program.”
Temple High School will now move on to the Bi-District Contest. That contest will be held March 24th in the Temple High School Auditorium. Other schools advancing to the Bi-District contest include Bryan High School, Harker Heights High School, Midway High School, Waco High School and Waxahachie High School.
“It will be nice to have our next show in a space we are used to,” Tolleson added. “We had to make some adjustments to performing on a smaller space for the district contest, now we are able to space our cast out a little more and make the most of our stage. So, we are excited to be able to perform in our own auditorium for Bi-District.”
“Men On Boats” is written by Jacklyn Backhaus. The play is set in 1869 as ten explorers set off to chart the Green and Colorado Rivers, under the guidance of John Wesley Powell, a Civil War veteran and personal friend of President Grant. This is a government-sanctioned journey following in the footsteps of the deserters, lone adventurers and countless indigenous people who have previously braved the wild rapids leading through Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, and through the most dangerous waterway of all – the Grand Canyon.