Two BNI thespians win awards at regional thespian competition at Bethel College

Seniors Amelia Chavez, Tianna Orr take home prizes in Noll’s first thespian competition.

On Saturday, Nov. 19, the Bishop Noll Thespian society went on a road trip to Bethel College in South Bend to compete in the Regional Thespian Competition against six other high schools from Northwest Indiana. Although Bishop Noll did not advance to the State finals, the group did have two of its thespians win prestigious awards. Senior Amelia Chavez won best supporting actor for the entire region, and senior Tianna Orr Won the All-Star award for the Bishop Noll piece, “A Lupita Brown Thanksgiving”.

“To me, I felt like I was acknowledged for the work that I put to act well for the show,” Chavez said.

Mr. Kevin Burgun, thespian society sponsor, knew both Orr’s and Chavez’s performances were special.

“Amelia was really able to show that super shy kid who is just trying to do the right thing. She never broke character and really made the audience think they were watching a third-grade kid. Great performance,” he said. “Tia’s character brought a lot of energy to the stage, and her character was the fulcrum for a lot of the plot. It was well-deserved.”

The piece itself was an adaptation of the famous Peanuts special, “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”, with a modern spin. “A Lupita Brown Thanksgiving” featured six actors all playing different Characters with mirroring personalities to that of Peanuts characters.

“We did great with what and who we had, and that’s all that matters,” Orr said.

The cast consisted of seniors Amelia Chavez, Mayra Pena, Laura Coss, Tianna Orr, Kalyna Wozny, and Edde Zarndt. It was also written and directed by Mr. Burgun.

“The competition was great. I was really impressed by how it was run; it wasn’t perfect, but I’ve been to some competitions that were far worse,” Burgun said. “I was also impressed with the other schools; everyone seemed to be happy and excited to be doing theater.”