Tooele Transcript Bulletin – News in Tooele, Utah
image Stansbury High School theater won its second consecutive 3A State Championship this year.

April 17, 2014
Stansbury drama earns another state championship

Mark another notch in the Stansbury High School state championship belt as the theater department earned its second straight title, which is the school’s third overall.

The competition was held at Stansbury High School last weekend for the 17 3A schools that qualified out of their region competitions.

Winning a second straight state championship has made SHS drama instructor Glen Carpenter proud of the validation the theater students have received from their peers.

“They are not just the drama kids anymore,” he said. “They are starting to be recognized as a valid program and team in the rest of the school.”

Carpenter said the personal growth and self-esteem the students achieve are most rewarding to him.

“Watch a student break out of their shell and thrive as a performer is one of the greatest things I can witness,” he said. “And having the talent finally bring them into their own is a great thing for all of them.”

Carpenter said he’s enjoyed watching his seniors grow into accomplished performers over the last four years, as well as upstanding young men and women.

“I have students going on to college at four different colleges in Utah, receiving scholarships from those schools for their talents,” he said. “They are also some of the top scholars from our school and have received high academic honors at these schools as well. It will be hard to see them go, but it will be fun to see what they make of themselves in the future.”

However, with the current crop of seniors departing, there are talented performers as underclassmen that Carpenter is excited to see expand on their talents and try to win a third state championship.

“We have an amazing group of students moving up, and I’m looking forward to what they can do next year,” he said. “Some of them have already mentioned things they’d love to compete with next year. I just see this program growing and expanding its base every year, and it brings me pride to see what this program has become in such a short period of time.”

SHS drama brought home a state championship with high ratings in seven different categories.

In the Contemporary Scenes category, SHS earned overall excellents in two performances and straight superiors in two other performances. Seniors Chloe Clarke and Jessica Bodily earned straight superiors for their “Juliet and Ophelia” scene, and juniors Alexis Castro and Brayden Summers earned straight superiors for their “Matterhorn” scene.

Freshmen Ryan Nielson and Dawson Carter earned overall excellents for their “Abbott and Costello” scene, and sophomores Lalenia Durfee and Isabel Handy earned overall excellents for their “Stop Talking” scene.

SHS earned two straight superiors ratings and an overall excellents in Classical Scenes. Junior Katia Tyler and senior Ben Judd earned straight superiors for “Comedy of Errors.” Sophomores Kate Gottfreidsen and Megan Judd earned straight superiors for “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Finally, sophomores Kharissa Zollinger and Courtney Stoker earned overall excellents for “A Dolls House.”

SHS students earned all straight superiors in the Pantomimes category. Junior Connor Saunders performed “One More Chance”; sophomores Jay Winkler and Parker Bridges performed “Ortom Reprobi” (Rise of The Fallen); junior Jake Jones and freshman Matt Jones performed “The Box”; and freshmen Amanda Brandaris and Emily Dale performed “Rage Quit.”

In Dramatic Monologues, senior Johnny Brandaris earned straight superiors for “Othello.” Senior Tage Gould earned straight superiors for “Julius Caesar.” Senior Ashli Brown earned straight superiors for “Keely and Du.” And Chloe Nielson earned straight superiors for “A Dolls House.”

In Humorous Monologues, Jessenia Dustin, Page Lerwill and Shawn Miller all earned straight superiors. Madi Olsen earned overall superiors. Dustin performed “I’m Gonna Get You Romeo,” Lerwill performed “The Diaries of Adam and Eve,” and Miller performed “Spy School.” Olsen performed “Cola Baby.”

In Musical Theater, juniors Erin Bales and Vanessa Brandaris earned straight superiors for “In His Eyes.” Senior Logan McBride earned straight superiors for “Build Me A Wall.” Senior Sami Hansen earned straight superiors for “Off With Their Heads.” Finally, freshmen Sara Chipman and Camilla Uphill and sophomore Kelley Carr earned straight superiors for “Naughty.”

Finally, SHS earned straight superiors for its One Act “10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse.” 

Richard Briggs

Community News Editor at Tooele Transcript Bulletin
Richard Briggs is community news editor, sports writer and copy editor for the Tooele Transcript-Bulletin. Born in San Diego and raised in St. George, Briggs graduated with a degree in communications from Dixie State College in 2012. While there he worked three years for the college’s newspaper, the Dixie Sun, as a sports writer and sports editor. During his senior year, he was editor in chief. Briggs also is a 2005 graduate from Snow Canyon High School. From 2006 to 2008 he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints in Kentucky. As community news editor, Briggs writes, edits and manages editorial and photographic content for the Transcript-Bulletin’s inside pages and sections, including Hometown and Bulletin Board.

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