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CHS theater advances to regional competition; students seek $30,000 in travel funds
Summary
Charlottesville High School's theater program placed among the top two schools in the Virginia Theater Association competition and will represent Virginia at the Southeastern Theatre Conference in March. Students and staff asked the school board and community for help raising about $30,000 for travel and production costs.
Charlottesville High School's theater program earned a top-two finish at the Virginia Theater Association statewide competition and will represent Virginia at the Southeastern Theatre Conference in Chattanooga, Tenn., next March, the school's fine arts coordinator said during the Nov. 6 school board meeting.
"Theater CHS was named one of the top two schools in all of Virginia," said Aaron Eichlerst, the division's fine arts coordinator, who told the board the one-act scene from Mary Zimmerman's The Secret in the Wings won honors including best ensemble and best use of music and brought an individual first-place costume-design award for Esmee Ogden Amt.
The program of roughly 45 students captured multiple awards, Eichlerst said, and will now face travel and production costs estimated at $30,000. The theater program plans performance-based fundraisers — the annual musical West Side Story, talent shows and improv nights — and is also accepting online donations at theaterchs.weebly.com, Eichlerst said.
Students who spoke during public comment described personal and educational benefits from participation. "Before I joined theater, I didn't really talk to anybody… I have really bad social anxiety. But when I joined CHS theater, it just got better for me," student Mia Gold said. Sophomore Ixchel Paz Gonzales said theater is a place "where we all have a voice," and costume designer Esmee Ogden Amt told the board the festival experience connected her with college programs and professionals she hopes to work with.
Senior Aiden Claire described the regional trip as a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity and asked the board and community to consider how to help make the trip accessible to all students who earned the chance to attend.
Board members and community commenters praised the program and suggested community fundraising and nonprofit partnerships as options if the division could not provide direct financial support. The board did not commit division funds at the Nov. 6 meeting.
The theater's next competition is the VHSL state theater competition on Nov. 8; the regional SCTC event is scheduled for March.
