This past weekend, Trinitas Arts Conservatory (troupe #4566) headed to Upland, CA to attend the annual California State Thespian Festival.

The festival brings in hundreds of thespians and troupes from across California to compete in various technical and performance categories.

At the festival, students also got to participate in numerous workshops and late-night activities.

Friday, the first day of the festival, consisted of presenting “thespys” (a category in which you compete in).

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., we crammed into classrooms and watched every performance from our troupe that we could.

That night, our very own Nick Johnson ‘23 was awarded the highly regarded Judges’ Choice Award for his short film “Alive.” Nick shared, “It felt pretty amazing watching my movie on the big screen in a packed theater; definetly a director bucket list moment.”

Saturday we were either preparing for a callback or participating in one of the many workshops. Workshops included singing and acting classes with some fun options like stage combat and Tai Chi.

Since the opportunity presented itself, I took part in the stage combat and Tai Chi class with a few of my friends — and it did not disappoint.

After a weekend full of singing and acting, it was a nice change of pace. And when will you ever get to learn a choreographed fight scene against your best friend? State Fest is the only correct answer.

Saturday evening Cadiz Salazar ’23 was invited on stage to perform her Judges’ Choice musical theaters solo  “How Did We Come to This?” from The Wild Party. I have never seen an audience so silent and in awe until Cadiz was singing on that stage. Thankfully we have a video to relive the moment.

Sunday was the final day of the festival, and everyone gathered in the theater one last time to present awards. Trinitas not only had two Judge’s Choice Awards, but also placed in the top three:

Nick Johnson: Judges’ Choice + First Place – Short Film – “Alive” –  Technical Thespys

Cadiz Salazar – Judges’ Choice + First Place – Solo Musical Theatre – “How Did We Come to This?” from The Wild Party – Performance Thespys

Layla Valenzuela ’23 – Second Place – Solo Musical Theatre – “Lost in the Brass” from Band Geeks – Performance Thespys

Superiors are another category of awards based on their overall score from judges. Eight Trinitas-ians were awarded superiors:

Makayla Palos Rodriquez ’23- Monologue + Solo Musical

Layla Valenzuela – Solo Musical

Gigi Coo ’24- Solo Musical

Salvador Garcia ’24 – Solo Musical

Jaden Lineras ’24 and Cadiz Salazar – Duet Musical

Layla Valenzuela and Salvador Garcia- Duet Musical

Bridgette Sanders ’23 and Matthew Ellersick ’23 – Duet Musical

We also got to welcome Servite junior Donnie Sarabia to the California State Thespian Board. Bridgette Sanders, a member for the 2022-2023 school year, said, “I am incredibly happy for Donnie! Though I am sad to be leaving, I am absolutely thrilled to see what the new board will accomplish. Donnie’s positivity and friendly demeanor will by far be the best contribution to the board.” Congrats Donnie!

And before we knew it, we were back in the vans to Servite. State Fest was definitely a highlight of my senior year, and I couldn’t have asked for a better troupe to spend it with.