Special to the Tribune
MONTGOMERY — The Walter Trumbauer State Festival was held Thursday, Dec. 2, through Saturday, Dec. 3, at Troy University. The festival seeks to highlight performances of student theatre artists, introduce professionals and professors to young performers, and recognize the best performers and designers in the state.
Students qualify for the state competition by earning a rating of “superior” at one of seven district festivals based on their performances. At all levels of competition, students receive critiques from qualified teachers, professionals, and theatre practitioners, allowing them to improve their theatrical skills.
Hewitt Trussville High School, under the direction of Valerie Lemmons, competed alongside 124 schools and 2,000 students at the Walter Trumbauer High School Theatre state competition, where they earned many honors:
Lily Rose Sauger and Ginny Waid – 1st Place in the state with Duet Musical Comedic
Callee Self – 1st Place in the state with Musical Comedic pre-1975
Sara Marie Buttram – 2nd place in the state with Musical Comedic 1975-2004
Callee Self and Stella Shipman – 3rd place in the state with Duet Musical Dramatic
Sidney Smith – 3rd place in the state with Musical Dramatic 1975-2014
Scores of Superior
Lily Rose Sauger – Musical Comedic 1975-2014
Ginny Waid – Musical Comedic 2015-present
Abigail Wilkinson – Musical Comedic 2015-present
Rob Burttram and Abigail Wilkinson – Duet Musical Comedic 2015-present
Will Stafford – Acting Dramatic pre-1900
Reagan White and Sara Marie Buttram – Duet Musical Dramatic
Scores of Excellent
Annalee Vandiver – Acting Comedic 1975-2004
Rob Buttram – Musical Dramatic 2015-present
The festival consists of thirty individual events, a one-act play festival, a studio theatre one-act play festival for 9th through 12th graders, as well as scholarship auditions and college screening for high school seniors and junior college students. Once students compete in the district festival, participants may qualify for the state-level competition.
The Walter Trumbauer Festival has provided quality training and performance opportunities for Alabama theatre students at the high school level since 1940. The educational impact of this event is substantial.
Trumbauer has become a tradition that every theatre student in Alabama looks forward to and remembers long after graduation.