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Two Montezuma-Cortez High School students qualified for the International Thespian Festival after a weekend at ThesCon in December.
The students, Cruz Hernandez and Brian Sandner, qualified in two different competitions. Sandner won the best editor award and received a superior rating for his short film, and Hernandez qualified with his scenic design model and set designs for “Beauty and the Beast.” He also scored a superior rating overall.
“The judges were quite impressed by his (Hernandez’s) model-building skills,” drama director Nicholaus Sandner told The Journal. “Both students will take their projects to Indiana (University) for the national competition in June. Over the years that I have taught in Cortez, I have only had one or two other students qualify for nationals, but we have never attended.”
The International Thespian Festival will take place in June at Indiana University Bloomington and will last for five days. Three students from the Cortez Middle School have attended in the past.
“There are main stage productions every evening, showcasing the best high schools across the country, workshops during the days and competitions throughout. It's really a scaled up version of Colorado ThesCon at an international level,” Nicholaus Sandner said. “It's exciting to have my students recognized at the state level and to have the opportunity to take them to an international competition.”
Sandner also spoke of Brian receiving an award on the main stage for his short film. It was the first time a MCHS student has received an award of this kind at ThesCon.
“It was such fun to have Brian receive an award on the main stage at the awards ceremony; that's never happened for Cortez in the past,” Sandner said. “It's been a big year for us this year.”
Brian Sandner’s short film, “Common Ground,” follows an American soldier as he braves a battlefield where his fellow soldiers are falling all around him. After extending aid to an enemy soldier, the soldier saves his life despite the promise of death.
The four-minute video showed Brian’s skills in editing, color grading, sound design and special effects.
The film can be viewed on YouTube at www.youtu.be/AwM5z0eOSRg.
Hernandez shared that this will be his first time attending the international competition and that his time at ThesCon was filled with memorable events and activities.
“In Denver, I attended various workshops that were provided, two main stage performances, individual competitions and some fun things like the Cheesecake Factory and the mall,” Hernandez said. “My favorite part of ThesCon is getting to spend time with my peers and learning more about myself and theater as a whole.”
Sandner has been taking MCHS drama students to ThesCon for the past 14 years, and the program went before he was director as well.
Around 40 Montezuma-Cortez High School students attended, and about half those students participated in individual event competitions. There were around 7,000 told students across the state of Colorado in attendance.
At ThesCon, students have the opportunity to watch performances, compete, attend workshops and network with other drama students in the state.
The two performances done on the main stage this year were “Dracula” and “SIX.” They were performed by two Colorado high schools.
“The students get to see how other high schools across the state do theater through watching main stage performances. They get to attend workshops run by professionals in various aspects of theater, from tech to acting to dancing,” Sandner said. “They also get to perform in front of judges and get feedback while competing against their peers.”
The Four Corners also will be represented at Indiana University by Troupe 5954 from Piedra Vista High School in Farmington. The troupe’s 35-minute performance of “The Yellow Boat” at the One Act State Finals and Thespians Festival in Rio Rancho won the state title.
