The Bulls Theatre Company has kicked off the year with a bang! The beginning of the year has been dedicated to the Thespian Troupe, with an entire musical, competitions, field trips, and amazing opportunities to perform on stages beyond the PCHS Auditorium. 

Into the Woods is a Tony Award-winning stage musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine. The Thespians at Parrish performed this musical October 9-11; however, they began their preparation back in May. This was the first ever Thespian Only musical performed at PCHS and it was submitted to get adjudicated (judged) by multiple different places. 

During the summer, the Thespians worked relentlessly, spending many days at the school rehearsing to make the show the best it could possibly be. 

When school was back in session, this dedication and drive didn’t slow down, with the class period, after school rehearsals, and weekend rehearsals. 

Simultaneously, the Thespians were hard at work preparing for their district competition on October 3. 

Doing all of this at the same time was a challenge, as noted by Leianna Reynolds who played the baker's wife in Into the Woods, and Melinda Shannon who is the stage manager for all Drama Club and Thespian shows at PCHS.  

Despite the stress that came with doing so much, the Bulls Theatre Company managed to push through, competing in 30 acting, musical theatre, and tech theatre events. Of those, they won 6 Top Honors (best in the room), 21 superiors (highest score), and 9 excellent awards (second highest score). 

Director Olga Pena said this event took place in the second largest district in the state. She said this was "quite the accomplishment" especially considering the troupe prepared for these events while producing Into the Woods. 

Reynolds was one of the students who got multiple Top Honors; she notes that it was one of her main goals for the year and how she is so honored and excited to have achieved it. 

Directly after the District Thespian Competition, Into the Woods was performed. 

Shannon noted how stressful Into the Woods was from a backstage perspective, between planning the set movements, and maintaining backstage organization, which was difficult in a show that was so heavy in props and moving pieces of the set. 

Shannon and Reynolds say how rewarding the show was, a common favorite in the cast, and how it came together in a way that was even better than they could’ve hoped for. 

Since then, the theater company has had additional opportunities to perform including a Shakespeare in the Park event on November 3.  

Katie Shuler said the company participated in workshops and did a performance of "Midsummer Night's Dream." 

Additionally, they performed at the Manatee Performing Arts Center for the Arts Alive exhibit on November 4. Here, they performed pieces from Into the Woods.  

Now the theater program, including the thespian troupe, is preparing for their annual Legends in Concert show. The performance is Friday, November 6.