RHS Theater IV won 11 awards, including two gold medals, at the 69th annual Lenaea Theater Festival this past weekend. While most schools at the festival had been working on their pieces since the start of the school year, Rocklin students only began after winter break, said RHS theater teacher Emily Masnica. Despite this, RHS took home a record number of awards.
The Theater IV class has been participating in the festival since before 2009, when Ms. Masnica’s brother was in the class. Since then, it has grown exponentially — this year, over 2,000 students from 74 schools from throughout California and Nevada attended.
“I am so incredibly proud of these kiddos and the work they have put in,” said Ms. Masnica, “not only for the festival, but for the theater department as a whole.”
Seniors Ben Sackinsky and Emma Sims won gold medals in scenic design and monologue performance, respectively. In addition, Sackinsky was chosen to present his concept and design and Sims was one of six monologues preformed during command performances in front of the entire festival, Ms. Masnica said.
The festival included acts ranging from monologues, duo scenes, musical theater, and one act performances to original scripts and set and costume design. Sackinsky chose set design because he had experience designing sets for RHS’ productions, he said. For his Addam’s family set design, Sackinsky said he was inspired by gothic architecture. He built a 1/4-inch scale model of the set out of foam boards for the festival.
“The most rewarding part of this experience has been seeing my work come together in real life,” he said. “I love seeing all the tech theater classes make my visions come to life, and all the hard work was definitely worth it. I cannot wait for the shows this March!”
Sims said she has spent some 10 hours working on her winning monologue since September and has been workshopping it with Ms. Masnica since December. All that work paid off this weekend.
“I was like crying my eyes out,” she said.
Below are the award-winners from RHS:
Jay Chalfant – Original One Act Script (Silver Medal), Monologue Performance (Bronze Medal)
Ben Sackinsky – Scenic Design (Gold Medal and was chosen to present his concept and design)
Jack Palmer – Monologue Performance (Bronze Medal)
October Flores – Monologue Performance (Silver Medal)
Emma Sims – Monologue Performance (Gold Medal and was one of six monologues in the entire festival to perform during command performances in front of the entire festival)
AJ Ryan – Musical Theater Solo (Bronze Medal)
Roman Camber – Musical Theater Solo (Bronze Medal)
Bella Eaton – Musical Theater Solo (Silver Medal)
October Flores and Kylie Chung – Student Direction in a one act (Silver Medal)
One Act Play – (Silver Medal)
