By CONNIE NOLEN / Community Columnist

“We competed in 28 individual acting events, three technical theatre events and one studio theatre event. We came home with 23 superior ratings which are the highest ratings that you can receive. That means that those students with a superior can now attend state to compete for the top theatre awards in Alabama,” said Pelham High School Theatre Teacher Jamie Stephenson speaking of her students’ triumph in Trumbauer—the annual high school theatre fall competition.

Top individual honors for the show included Claudia Flaherty as Best Actress, Morgan Willingham as Best Supporting Actress and Meredith Revel as All-Star Cast. In group awards, PHS Theatre brought home both Best in Show and Best Ensemble. Riley Taylor and Anna Smith both earned superiors in musical theatre with superior awards in other categories too numerous to list.

“Trumbauer was so amazing this year,” said best actress winner, PHS Senior Claudia Flaherty. “I had so much fun being in the studio piece with Meredith and Morgan—especially when our show won and made it to state!”

What makes these noteworthy accolades even more impressive is that this has been the year of make-shift venues for PHS Theatre. With theatre construction underway at the high school, Stephenson’s classes cannot enter the auditorium or perform for an audience in their auditorium.

“Due to the auditorium construction and the size of my classroom, we have had to rehearse in a lobby where people constantly walk through. When we go to state, we will be the only school not to have performed their show in a theater,” said Stephenson.

Judging from their success, Stephenson’s students were able to overcome their nontraditional rehearsal areas. However, the challenge to stay on track remains intense. As the winter months encroach with more indoor sports and extracurricular activity, Stephenson looks forward to completion of the auditorium construction. Originally projected for an October re-opening, currently the auditorium is scheduled to re-open in March.

On Thursday, Dec. 10, the group will perform their award-winning show in the PHS auditorium lobby following state competition Dec. 3-5 in Troy.