Imagine this: a packed auditorium, seats filled with many students, all expecting their hard work to pay off. After the spokesperson introduces the crowd to the award ceremony, a rush of excitement bursts through the air as the results are beamed onto the projector screen. That’s what it was like for many at the January 31st MIFA, Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association, Regionals match. For this competition, the Woodhaven Theater Company spent weeks developing its two performances. Said performances were Wiley and the Hairy Man, a mainstage performance, and Eurydice, a studio performance. Both plays passed through districts and were hoping to earn their way through Regionals and onto States. But the question remains, what were the results of the Regionals match?
The award ceremony started with honorable mentions. Each play received a set number of awards for certain members of the production crew. They ranged from Excellent to Superior based on how well the crew members did. Then came the most significant part of the award ceremony: which school would move up to compete in states. For the final results, the Woodhaven Theater Company managed to score 1st place for Wiley and the Hairy man in the mainstage performance. Not only that, but they also received 2nd place for Eurydice as well. Now with their places set, both plays would be moving into the states match on February 14th.
The Woodhaven Theater Company was ecstatic because of the results, but they knew they had to continue practicing for the finale: winning states. They only had two more weeks to prepare for the match, giving four hours each day to practice. Their next performances would be their last, so they made sure that it would be their best.
New to this year’s competition are short plays for schools to participate in. These plays are similar to studio performances, but they only last 10-20 minutes instead of the usual 45 minutes. The Woodhaven Theater Company entered a short with their performance of A Walrus in the Body of a Crocodile.
States is formatted relatively the same as regionals, but takes place across two days instead of one. Not only that, but there are metal trophies instead of the usual paper awards. After all of the plays were done and given criticism, the final ceremony began. Like regionals, it started with honorable mentions of the cast for certain plays. But after all of the mentions, trophies were starting to be handed out. First were trophies for the schools’ outside behavior and small grants. Then came the placements for the plays. In the end, Wiley and the Hairy Man scored first, and Eurydice scored second. This made the fourth year in a row that the Woodhaven Theatre Company won first place.
