Silver Hawk Theatre took part in the Nebraska State Thespian Festival on Jan. 6-8, at the Holland Performing Arts Center and DoubleTree Hotel in Omaha, Nebraska.

The festival had multiple acts of theatrical performances including musical and physical acting. The festival, which brings schools from across the state together, had a variety of workshops where students could learn about various aspects of theatre as well as improv, tech, and design challenges to compete in. Southwest took first place in Improv and Troupe Display, and was given the Gold Troupe Award, the highest that a school can achieve. Juniors Steven Dao, Addison Stelzer, and Jackson Waller, sophomore Sophie Belka and freshman Tyler Stover received superiors on their Solo Musical Theatre event and qualified for the International Thespian Festival in June. Organizations offered possible scholarships for thespians as well. 

“I think my favorite act was probably the ‘Number of Ridiculous’ because of how put together it was and how the ensemble made it seem like an amazing performance,” Dao said.

Southwest’s “Kinky Boots” was one of the three shows that were invited to perform on the mainstage alongside Millard West’s “Descendants” and Gross Catholic’s “Elf Jr.” Southwest presented a video review of the big dance numbers and it was well received. 

“It was very well received,” senior John Roth said. “You can tell by the energy in the room and what people said afterwards that they enjoyed it a lot.”

Senior Michaela Boyd and junior Jackson Waller announced the “Minute to Give It” event for the Trevor Project. The fundraiser raised $573.85 from the NE thespians alone in one minute.

“I thought it was really cool and amazing that we raised that quantity in just a minute,”  Boyd said. “I’m sure many people were surprised by the results.”