On June 10, LHS drama lovers gathered in the school’s auditorium for the one of the most exciting theater events of the year: the Drama Banquet.

The night started out with 31 inductions into the ITS (International Thespian Society), then moved onto the actor vs. techie games. Here, selected members from each group are pitted against each other in three Olympic style games. Though the techies came home with the trophy in the 2017 games, the actors won this year with a sweeping victory from Freshman Josh Todd. Todd had leading roles in both The Giver and Footloose this drama season.

“At first I thought I was going to lose,” said Todd, “but then, as the audience’s cheering got louder, I got super excited.  [When I won] I felt like I was the queen of everything.”

Later in the evening, there was an award ceremony that resembled The Oscars called “The Snorkies.” (A blend of “Smithhisler” and “Norko”) Some categories include “Most Likely to Fall Asleep During Tech Week,” “Most Likely to Get Audience Laughter,” and “Best Supporting Actress,” Sophomore David Kominars left the banquet that night bearing three awards.

During senior performances, Christian Howard (class of 2018) gave a speech about his time in drama and Alyssa Chiarelli sang a song. The final acts following  those two were spontaneously chosen by a small group of students. They had the entire cast singing along to “Almost Paradise” from Footloose and “Breakeven” by The Script.

For Cassidee Grunwald (class of 2018 and ITS graduate), this final moment onstage was an emotional experience.  “It was a fun time singing with everyone one last time. I still can’t believe that I’m no longer going to be trying out for the play next year…but I’m glad I got to perform with my friends one last time as a farewell to the Linganore Drama Department,” she said.

However, the night wasn’t quite over yet. At the end of the festivities, it was finally time to address the proverbial elephant in the room: next year’s shows.

“Finding out next year’s season was so incredible,” 2021 class member Mackenzie Berry said. “Unfortunately, whoever was in the booth hit the slides too soon, so the shows were quickly revealed out of nowhere before everyone was expecting it.“

Before Mrs. Smithhisler knew it, the cover for the fall show, Almost Maine, had appeared on-screen. The auditorium erupted in cheers when the name was accidentally revealed, but not nearly as much as when the spring musical’s name was mistakenly shown for a split second.

“[Mrs. Smithhisler] had been pretty persistent towards the students leading up to the banquet in telling them that we weren’t going to be doing Beauty and the Beast, so when the logo flashed on the screen… I started freaking out,” said Berry. “The room erupted with screams and laughter.”

Smithhisler explains that some of the factors considered when choosing a show are the type of audience it will be intended for, what talent they know is returning to the stage the next school year, the show’s budget, and the show’s type. She wanted to go for a more classic feel this year, and what better show to fit the bill than Beauty and the Beast?

Although she won’t be able to participate in next year’s show, Cassidee Grunwald says she’s excited to see how the show and its cast will turn out. “We have so many talented people that could fit any of the roles,” she said. Grunwald hopes to return to see next year’s performances.

Smithhisler says her favorite moment was back in November when the drama department raised $4,000 with the Lily Weaver dance recital. “It really showed a sense of community and support for one of our own,” Smithhisler said.

Graduating senior and ITS member Alyssa Chiarelli had lots of memories to share, too.

“One of my favorite memories was finding out that I got casted in the fall musical, Elephant and Piggie, two years ago… That was one of my favorite shows at Linganore. Another favorite memory was when we did the special effects makeup in class and it looked like I broke my leg. I scared the crap out of one of my teachers.”

Chiarelli directed the fall play, The Giver, and also says that she loved being able to share her knowledge of theatre with the incoming freshman.