Dunbar Drama Department Brings Home 2nd Place from KTA Competition

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Josiah Howlett

The cast and crew of “And They Danced Real Slow in Jackson” after they won 2nd place.

Brooke Hancock, Staff Reporter

This past weekend, Dunbar’s theatre program came in 2nd at the Kentucky Theatre Association Competition (KTA), one point behind Owensboro High school and a point ahead of Corbin High school.

Dunbar’s competition piece was “And They Dance Real Slow in Jackson,” a play about a girl who gets diagnosed with Polio and dreams about walking, dancing and falling in love, but gets attacked and bullied into selective mutism.

The play was performed during the school day for students, after school, at the Kentucky Thespian Festival (KTF) and at KTA. While the scores from KTF still haven’t been released, Dunbar’s score at KTA means that they’ll be performing at the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) in March.

“SETC is another chance to develop our individual characters further and to tell the story with as much heart as we can handle,” said junior Courtney Hausman who played the leading role.

The scoring for plays includes projection, diction, costumes, props, lighting, time (it has to be 45 minutes or less), sound, knowing lines, acting ability and the play itself. The final scores ended up being very close with only a point difference between 1st and 2nd place and between 2nd and 3rd.

Dunbar improved from their score last year of 3rd place and had the All Star Cast award given to Courtney Hausman, who believes that they had an amazing performance on Saturday.

“I felt as if it was my last chance to play Elizabeth, so I tried to fully develop into the character for one final time. I believe that when a cast performs for a final time or with a sense of urgency the story is more raw and real to the audience,” said Hausman. “That’s what set Dunbar apart at KTA.”

Dunbar had a great performance this past weekend and no doubt will be just as amazing at the Southeastern Theatre Conference this March.