Leigh One Act Wins Districts, Finishes 3rd at State!
By: Brianne Kuhr, a freshman at Leigh High School
The Leigh one act team has had another very successful season to add to the books. This year’s play was called Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
The One-Act team held their annual dinner theater performance on November 28. This was a neat experience to be able to have because last year no audience was allowed due to Covid. And it was quite possibly the biggest crowd to ever come to the dinner and show with nearly 300 people in attendance.
A few short days later, it was on to districts, which were hosted at Leigh on December 1. The play received first place by all three judges at districts. Lyons-Decatur Northeast took second. At districts, numerous students received acting recognition, including Kanyon Held, Makenna Held, Aiden Miller, Audie Tejkl, Gabriel Pinkston, Macy Clausen, Jordan Noonan, Morgan Bunner, and Brianne Kuhr.
Finally, the team concluded their season a week later at state on Wednesday, December 8th at the Johnny Carson Theater. They finished third at state by losing to the second-place team, Callaway, by one point. These same students also received acting recognition at State.
Senior Kanyon Held, who played the lead character Sweeney Todd, stated, “It was a very fun one-act season this year. It was a little different doing a serious play instead of a comedy, but I still had lots of fun at practice making memories with my friends. I was happy with the way we finished the season by making it down to state for my final year. It would have been nice to bring home a trophy, but third place is nothing to be disappointed in.”
Head coach Justine Fischer seconded Held’s views:
“It was definitely a new experience for us to do a more serious play this year, but the kids rocked it. They all worked so incredibly hard and were very dedicated all season. Our lead roles especially put so much time and effort into this production, and we believe we created something very special. Districts was very fun, and while state was very disappointing, it was still a good experience. These kids have very high expectations, but at the end of the day, our main goal is to create something as a school that not everyone else is doing. It’s about being part of something bigger than yourself and making it the very best you can. This group very much understood that, and it was an absolute honor to coach them. We will miss this extremely talented group of seniors next year.
“Above all, we are honored that so many students dedicate so much time to this team and that it’s something our whole school can do together and take pride in! Thank you to the countless people who helped our team throughout the season! It was a show to remember!”
D1-2 District Results
1st place - Leigh: “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
2nd place - Lyons-Decatur Northeast: “Forgotten”
3rd place - Omaha Christian Academy: “Elephant’s Graveyard”
4th place - High Plains Community: “Cactus Pass”
5th place - Osceola: “Bugzzz”
6th place - East Butler: “Female Transport”
7th place - Clarkson: “937”
8th place - Mead: “And They All Lived…”
D1 Play Production State Championship Results
1st place - Holy Family/St.Francis: “Under a Cavern Sky”
2nd place - Callaway: “We Are the Sea”
3rd place - Leigh: “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
4th place - Harvard: “Ug, The Caveman Musical”
5th place - Stapleton: “Dinner and a Swashbuckling”
6th place - Central Valley: “10 Days in a Madhouse”