On Nov. 11 and 12 the Pleasant Valley drama department attended the 2016 Iowa Thespian Festival. The Iowa Thespian Festival is a weekend filled with performances, workshops, and auditions with over 1,000 theatre students from all over the state of Iowa.

The Iowa Thespian Festival is not just for thespians, it is also a great experience for anyone interested in theatre. Solange Bolger, sophomore, attended Thespian Festival for the first time this year and had a great time. Bolger said, “I enjoyed it so much, I really enjoyed getting to meet new thespians from around the state.” She also encourages anyone interested to attend in the future by saying, “It is a great way to see productions put on by other schools and better understand how things work. The workshops teach you a lot and you get to really bond with your troupe.”

This year PV performed Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at the festival which made the experience so much different than in years when they did not perform. Katie Bullock, sophomore, said, “Thes fest was so much more surreal this year since we got to perform for the state. It adds a whole new dimension when you get to be backstage and onstage at a theatre as nice as Gallagher.”

This year PV had many individual events qualify for international thespian festival. PV improv swept the board in their event with Hatrick taking first, WACIT coming in second, and Select Button in third. Seniors Lauren Carroll, Cassie Berta, and Megan Maloney qualified in solo musical theatre, and Lauren Carroll got third place in the event. London Bicknell, junior, got second in costume construction.

All in all, the 2016 Iowa Thespian Festival was a big success for troupe 856 and it was a great time to be a Spartan. However, to top off the whole festival Maaz Ahmed, junior, was named one of seven new state thespian officers that will represent all of the theatre kids in Iowa. Everyone make sure to congratulate him on his big achievement.