By Auburn Terry
Junior Reporter
As the community rang in the turn of October to November, over 300 students from more than ten schools in the surrounding district gathered at Opelika High for the qualifying round of the statewide competition, Trumbauer.
The competition comprises several categories, ranging from pantomime, to singing, to one-acts, to classical acting. More than 30 Opelika students competed in these individual events, and 29 of them qualified to perform at State, a championship of sorts, at Troy University, Dec. 5-6.
Most of the upperclassmen students of OHS found themselves reminiscing on competitions past throughout the day, and senior Dean Jones recalled his happiest moment in his career as taking the original one-act to State when it was held in Florence.
For others, such as senior John Sasser and junior Anna Brown, the excitement of Trumbauer lies in the performances, showcasing a similar talent with some of Alabama’s most talented students.
Opelika High Theatre Society director Revel Gholston said Trumbauer will always be a priority for his students because the event holds a wide range of options for competition and performance experience. He also said how unique Trumbauer is because of its levels of one qualifying round and one statewide round, in which Opelika always competes.
“There is a large part of the state that thinks rural Opelika has a lack of understanding of theatre, and I feel that (Trumbauer) is a source that puts an end to that misnomer,” Gholston said.
Along with the qualifying individual events, Gholston and a cast of 12 students and technical crew of nine students will also take a one-act competition show, based off of the memorial quilt dedicated to the AIDS of the 1980s and 1990s, appropriately titled “The Quilt.”
Jones, having the most experience with one-acts after being a cast member in every one-act in all four years of his high school career, said he is particularly glad to be a part of a show with such an impressive central message.
“It’s so important because it shows how we’re all humans and should be treated as such,” Jones said.
The hoopla surrounding Trumbauer is one of the most exciting times out of the school year for theatre students and teachers alike, uniting the state of Alabama for an appreciation for fine arts.