Photograph courtesy of The Altamont School
The Altamont School’s Theatre Program earned top individual and group honors at the Walter Trumbauer High School State Theatre Festival last month, many related to the school’s production of the musical “Single Rider” in November. The program also was selected as Alabama’s inaugural entry in the new Studio category at the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) in Baltimore, Maryland, in March.
"Single Rider," by Amanda D’Archangelis (music and book) and Sami Horneff (lyrics and book) is a light comedy that follows three young Amish women at Lucky Land amusement park on the first day of their Rumspringa, the traditional year in which Amish youth explore the “English” world.
Altamont Theatre Director Reid Watson acknowledged the risk of presenting the high school premiere of a work so new that early rehearsals were essentially workshops for the musical, with additions, rewrites, and notes from the authors shaping the production on the fly. The actors, especially, bore a heavier creative burden than with the school’s recent productions of popular musicals. “They can’t get online and watch a YouTube clip of how somebody else played this role because there is no reference for them,” Watson says. Students in Altamont’s new Technical Theatre class stepped up, too, developing the in-demand professional skills required to manage costumes for 17 "Single Rider" characters and creating an amusement park onstage at the school’s Cabaniss-Kaul Center for the Arts. The show also featured live accompaniment by Altamont student musicians. Contributed by Sean Flynt
State Trumbauer Honors for The Altamont School
Best in Show: The Altamont School’s Production of “Single Rider”
All Star Casting: Lottie Kanter as Abigail
All Star Casting: Kaavya Karthikeyan as Angela
All Star Casting: Ali LeJeune as Moira
1st Place in the State: Andrew Herrin for Lighting Design (Novice)
1st Place in the State: Jimmy Sears and Mitchell Hughey for Readers Theatre (Varsity)
3rd Place in the State: Bea Connell for Solo Musical Dramatic (Intermediate)
3rd Place State Title: Braxton Quinney for Solo Musical Comedic (Varsity)
Group Acting: Bea Connell, Mitchell Hughey, Watts Yancey, Alden DuMontier, Johnny Stumpff, Sanjana Gaddamanugu, Francie Roth, & Ali LeJeune (Superior Medal)
Group Acting: Emma McLain, Baylor Robbins, Tylan Floyd, Charlie Denson, Valeria Blanco and Lottie Kanter (Superior Medal)
Blakely Fry and Syriana Johnson for Novice Duet Readers Theatre (Superior Medal)
Charlie Denson and Tylan Floyd for Intermediate Duet Readers Theatre (Superior Medal)
McLean Pitts and Sanjana Gaddamanugu for Intermediate Duet Readers Theatre (Superior Medal)
Emma McLain and Andrew Herrin for Intermediate Duet Readers Theatre (Superior Medal)
Ali LeJeune for Intermediate Solo Musical Comedic (Superior Medal)
Lottie Kanter for Novice Solo Musical Dramatic (Superior Medal)
Ali LeJeune for Intermediate Solo Musical Dramatic (Superior Medal)
Valeria Banco-Barajas for Varsity Solo Musical Dramatic (Superior Medal)
Johnny Stumpff for Varsity Solo Musical Dramatic (Superior Medal)
Blakely Fry for Novice Solo Musical Comedic (Superior Medal)
Kaavya Karthikeyan and Braxton Quinney for Varsity Duet Musical Comedic (Superior Medal)
Valeria Blanco-Barajas and Johnny Stumpff for Varsity Duet Musical Comedic (Superior Medal)
Francie Roth for Costume Design (Superior Medal)
Spencer DuMontier for Costume Design (Excellent Medal)
Owen Herrin and Vassili Trenin for Novice Duet Pantomime (Excellent Medal)
Baylor Robbins and Syriana Johnson Novice Duet Pantomime (Excellent Medal)