CHILLICOTHE — The Chillicothe High School Thespian Troupe 3170 has been selected to represent the State of Ohio at the International Thespian Festival in the Chapter Select Showcase, according to director Amanda Betz.
The play ‘Men to the Left! Women to the Right!’ written by Chillicothe native, Matthew D Harper, shows the story of a Jewish woman named Aduvah and her survival as a teenager in the Nazi-occupied Poland. The play moves between present-day storytelling and flashbacks to the main character’s life, including her eventual deportation to Auschwitz.
“It’s exciting,” Betz said. “We typically have a show that’s screened for the state festival that we go to. But this is the first year that the chapter has been selected to go to the international festival.”
During the festival, Betz said everything in the play has to be stripped down to the bare minimum.
“You’re allowed like six black boxes, some stools, very simple costuming,” Betz said. “No fancy lighting. It’s about the storytelling and the acting. The story really comes to life through young people telling it, rather than getting distracted by some of the more technical aspects of the show.”
Senior Jacey Stephens said she is very excited to perform at Internationals to close her high school acting career.
“This being my last show is truly beautiful,” Stephens said. “In the show, it mentions family. Though a big part of it is tragedy, at its center, it is about this loving family. I feel like this has been my family for the past few years, and that’s kind of sad, but that’s what happened in the story. So, in a way, I connect with it.”
Other students like Jon Pairan said this experience has been very educational.
“My character goes through a really big change, and it’s been interesting to figure out how to do that from one scene and then completely be a different character the next,” Pairan said. “It’s been really interesting to find ways and tactics and different voices and ways I can tackle that.
Pairan said the cast has also learned a lot about Jewish traditions and what people had to endure during the Holocaust.
Betz said the Thespian Troupe was awarded the David David Meade Massie Trust to take the students to the festival.
The International Thespian Festival is June 21-26.
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Chillicothe High School to perform at International Thespian Festival
Reporting by Destiny Torres, Chillicothe Gazette / Chillicothe Gazette
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