Sarah Warren led the merry cast of Theater Sports students in a final song as the cast wrapped up a fun filled evening on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day. A full house turned out to help raise funds for the students who will use the proceeds to help pay for a trip to the Twin Cities to attend a play.
Green beer might make you laugh, but not as hard as the high school seniors who entertained a packed house at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day.
Twenty-two Cook County High School seniors participated in the 6th annual College in the Schools Theater Sports competition and they brought the entire ACA audience to gales of laughter.
Although a bum knee hobbled him, the audacious, articulate, and unflappable Michael McHugh was once again an incredible Master of Ceremonies. The merry McHugh was everywhere—on stage, in the crowd, back and forth in front of the stage—urging on the crowd and the students as the fast-paced skits kept changing and evolving.
All told about $1,000 was raised by the event, said McHugh. The money will be used to send the College Literature senior class to Minneapolis for a theater experience.
Originated by Keith Johnston of Calgary, Alberta in the 1990s, Theater Sports has grown into a worldwide phenomenon.
Above: Katrina Axtell makes a “threatening” face at Aliya Marxen who has turned her back in fear to the sword wielding Axtell. Behind the actresses Sebastian Schnobrich plays bass guitar.
Under the direction of McHugh and English teacher Ivy Church, theater students have been taught the art of improvisation. According to McHugh, the idea isn’t to get laughs, but to create a unique and fluid moment. Teams are encouraged to work together and take care of each other. And along the way, plenty of laughs are generated.
Audience members were pulled into several skits; sometimes a few people at a time and sometimes the entire audience would be asked to join in. The response was robust and enthusiastic.
On one team, the following seniors represented the Slippery Slugs: Ailee Larson, Will Brandenburg, Amber Todd, Will Petty, Autumn Clearwater- Day, Darren Waha, Reid Shepard, Jake Plahuta, Daniel Ditmanson, Jennifer Curtis, and Kristina Rude.
On the second team, the Dramasaurs were made up of Katrina Axtell, Ryan Martinson, Jesse Johnson, Aliya Marxen, Brea Boomer, Danny Lunde, Sebastian Schnobrich, Karl Ingebrigtsen, Clay Gruber-Schultz, Max Simonowicz and Sarah Warren.
Left: Michael McHugh talks over a skit with a perplexed Brea Boomer.
At the end of the night there wasn’t a winner declared between the teams. The winner on this night was the audience, all lucky leprechauns who couldn’t find a better or more fitting way to spend St. Patrick’s Day.
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