MCHS Drama Students Impressive in Competition

A team of five Mira Costa drama students took first place in theater games last Saturday in the Fullerton College High School Theatre Festival.

The win marked the fourth year in a row that an MCHS ComedySportz team has won in the theater games category, according to a booster club website.

Sixty-eight MCHS students competed in what is the school's 22nd year of participation in the festival, according to Carol Mathews, MCHS drama director and art department chair. This year's festival included approximately 2,000 drama students from 60-75 Southern California schools competed.

Delphi Borich, Ari Howorth, Eli Rivas, Gabby Wolf and Ron Yadin, aka Team On the Roof, beat out another MCHS' Team HaHa, which took second place. Team HaHa consisted of Buster Baer, Molly Curtis, Cameron David, Duncan Gregory and Kathleen Yates.

Thirty-seven MCHS students received second place in musical theater for their scene from the MCHS upcoming spring musical, “Fiddler on the Roof.” They beat out 34 other scenes. "Fiddler" will begin its run on stage at MCHS on April 20.

Matt McElroy placed third in the graphic design category for his work on the poster for MCHS' fall 2011 production of "You Can't Take It With You!"

The students who performed in the Fiddler scene that took second place are Adeline Allen, Josiah Bartell, Mackenzie Becker, David Bernal, Delphi Borich, Matt Buchanan, Kendall Busby, Delaney Charney, Carly Cohen, Dylan Colbert, Molly Curtis, Nick Fender, Ryan Fiene, Estefania Freire, Sawyer Fuller, Maddie Gleason, Lily Granados, Duncan Gregory, Gavin Jernigan, Danielle Kay, Jesse Leigh, Meg Luthringer, Gracie Markland, Faith Marvin, Julia McDermott, Matt McElroy, Carly McPherson, Eli Rivas, Charlie Sevy, Celena Smith, Kalena Tamura, Alex Waxler, Ricky Wedeen, Gabby Wolf, Ron Yadin, Shauna Yates and Derek Zeoli.

The festival offers the following competitive categories: musical theater; contemporary ensemble, dramatic or humorous; classical ensemble, dramatic or humorous; co-ed classical monologue, dramatic; co-ed classical monologue, humorous; co-ed contemporary monologue, dramatic; co-ed contemporary monologue, humorous; make-up design; graphic design; costume design; lighting design; scenic design; theater games, and tech Olympics.

The top three finishers in each category receive a trophy.

In the 2011 festival, the MCHS ComedySportz team was the school's solo winning entry, taking first place in theater games. In 2010, in addition to a ComedySportz team taking first in theater games, MCHS students took second and third places in musical theater, second in classical ensemble, dramatic/humorous, and the Mira Costa Adapt Team took second in knot tying in tech Olympics.

The festival, put on by the Fullerton College Theatre Arts Department, began in 1981 with about 180 high school students and 18 judges participating, according to the festival website.