Standing with other national qualifiers, senior Cadence Teicher (front row, center) shows off her silver medal at the Texas Thespians State Festival at the Gaylord Hotel in Grapevine on Nov. 18. Teicher has attended the convention each of the past two years, and competed in two categories this time around. “I wanted to compete [my first year],” Teicher said. “[But] the first time was just for the experience and to do workshops. I’m a very competitive person, so putting myself in more of a competitive situation allowed my abilities to truly shine.” Photo courtesy of Thespian Troupe 6289, used with permission

She walks into the contest room alongside her fellow classmate with all of their supplies, readying themselves for a hair and makeup showdown. The pair have countless hours of experience in working with each other in shows put on by the theater department. However, there’s only so much anyone can do to prepare for such a competition, as participants only are made aware of what they will be creating moments before time begins. The clock begins to tick; seniors Cadence Teicher and Kate Higdon now have only two hours to create two different designs to present before the judges.

The “Team Hair and Makeup Challenge” at the Texas Thespians State Festival at the Gaylord Hotel in Grapevine is part of a three-day event that the theater department has attended for several years. The convention takes place the first weekend of Thanksgiving Break, with participating students missing school at the end of the week before.

This year was Teicher’s second time attending the convention and first time competing. Last year, she attended the convention for the experience and different classes the convention offered.

“I wanted to compete [my first year],” Teicher said. “[But] the first time was just for the experience and to do workshops. I’m a very competitive person, so putting myself in more of a competitive situation allowed my abilities to truly shine.”

Teicher and her teammate, Higdon, placed second overall in the hair and makeup challenge. Teicher also competed in the solo-monologue competition, where she nationally qualified with a perfect score in the preliminary round of the contest and was able to audition for a main stage slot at the closing ceremony. At this audition, Teicher competed against others with the same scores for the chance to be able to perform in front of thousands of students and directors. While she wasn’t chosen for such an occasion, Teicher said her favorite moments happened while she was at the callback.

“I [had the opportunity] to talk to other people who also received a main stage callback,” Teicher said. “Everyone was complimenting each other and it was very sweet.”

In total, the theatre department had 13 national qualifiers, along with seven main stage callbacks.

Higdon, who competed alongside Teicher, was thrilled to see her team place second, as it was her first time going to the festival.

“I was in a workshop the day after the competition, and I was feeling confident but knew there were a lot of schools that also competed,” Higdon said. “I got a text from [a friend] telling me congratulations, [and then] another person told me the results. I was so shocked, it didn’t feel real. I was like, ‘Oh, we did that!’”

According to Higdon, she almost did not attend the convention, but her mother and it being her senior year persuaded her to go. She credits her success in part to pre-existing chemistry with Teicher.

“[At the competition], I realized that I forgot to pack liquid latex, and I felt that I was letting my group down,” Higdon said. “Luckily, Cadence and I get along really well. I did apologize, but I also knew that we could make things work since we had worked together so many times before. We were able to give each other encouragement and constructive criticism at the exact same time. Whatever happened, we still had each other’s backs.”

What also aided her was the fact that she had been involved in theatrical competitions since her time as a member of the Destination Imagination Team in elementary school, which helped her have pride in her work.

“I [have] some confidence in myself and my abilities,” Higdon said. “I have been doing hair and makeup for quite some time. Doing it in a competition setting allowed me to follow my gut more and show off my strengths. In future shows, I will feel less inclined to receive more reassurance [on my work].”

Chemistry also played a crucial role in the success of junior Evan Schmitt, who competed in the duet musical category with junior Seth Loudenslager. The pair nationally qualified as well. Talk here about how they qualified- what song did they sing, was it silly, etc.

“There [was] no way I could have done such a ridiculous song with anyone else,” Schmitt said. “We do stupid stuff together all the time, so we were already comfortable making fools of ourselves, which made things so much funnier.”

Not all of the nationally qualifying competitors had prior experience with their scene partners before contest day. Freshman Eshita Agrawal, who nationally qualified in the group scene category, as well as received a mainstage callback, said that she was placed in her group without interacting with anyone enough to know how they operated.

“I was already very scared because I was the only freshman competing,” Agrawal said. “I didn’t know my group very well, but they were kind and understanding. I’m lucky that I was put into a group with such amazing people. It helped our [chemistry] so much.”

Agrawal said that any confusion and nerves were quickly put to rest once she settled into her experience at the convention.

“You could be doing everything wrong, but it’s still okay,” Agrawal said. “You’re in a great place where making a  mistake is almost encouraged.”