The first round of competition in this year's UIL One-Act Play Contest is the zone competition on Saturday, February 29 at University High, 3201 South New Road, in Waco. Because District 12-6A has nine schools, it was divided into zones for this first round.

Performances begin at 2 p.m. and run back-to-back. (*approximate time)
2:00 p.m. Midway High, Shakespeare in Hollywood
*2:50 p.m. Temple High, Mac Beth
*3:40 p.m. Harker Heights High, Hecuba
*4:30 p.m. Waco High, Ada and the Engine
Auditorium doors are typically closed during each performance and audience members may enter or leave only between performances.

Critic judges include David Nanny, Mike Schraeder and Rachel Harrah. Contest manager is Larry Carpenter.

There is no charge for admission at this level of the contest. If driving from Temple, take Exit 331 (New Road) and turn right. Travel past the main school building and turn right onto Old Robinson Road. You will then see the auditorium and its parking lot.

Three of the four schools will advance to the district contest, which will be Saturday, March 7, at the Midway Performing Arts Center.

The following article by Joel Valley appeared in the Temple Daily Telegram on Friday, February 28:

On an autumn afternoon, in an abandoned lot outside the city, seven school girls meet up to perform a play. In an urban wasteland, the girls in their tartan school uniforms transform into witches, ghosts and kings. They hurl headlong into the unchecked passions of Macbeth — in Shakespeare’s original text — as the line between real life and blood fantasy quickly blurs. Through prophecies and smartphones, blood and music, unexpected resonances emerge from Shakespeare’s dark nightmare of ambition gone awry, while at the same time, these young women discover what’s done cannot be undone.

Mac Beth was adapted by Erica Schmidt. The play originally premiered in 2018 at Seattle Repertory Theatre. Erica is married to Peter Dinklage of "Game of Thrones" fame.

The seven girls are played by Jasmin Buckner, Olivia Cabrera, Torrie Culp, Kerynn Eckenrode, Genevieve Myers, Sereniti Patterson and Mimansha Shrestha.

Temple's UIL team has an amazing record in one-act. For the past 27 years in a row, Temple has been district champion. No other UIL team at Temple High holds such a record. For four of the past five years, Temple has advanced to the state finals (elite eight). Typically, around 250 schools begin the contest in the 6A classification. 

The UIL has announced new district alignments for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years. District 12-6A will change from a nine schools to eight. Waco High and Waco Midway will leave our district and Bryan High will be added. The newest school in our area, Lake Belton High, will be in the 4A classification.

From the creator of Almost, Maine (John Cariani), Love/Sick is a collection of nine slightly twisted and completely hilarious short plays. Every scene is about love, and especially about love’s power to make you sick — not only heartsick, but sometimes physically ill.

Performances are Friday & Saturday, January 24 & 25. 2020 at 8 p.m. with a Sunday matinee on January 26 at 2 p.m. Seating will be on the stage with the actors at the Temple High School Auditorium. Tickets are $10 in advance, and $12 at the door (if available). Tickets are available from students and online at www.CentralTexasTickets.com

Cast members include Terry Austin, Liam Bro, Jasmin Buckner, Kylie Burke, Olivia Cabrera, Torrie Culp, Kerynn Eckenrode, Colin Fowler, Caleb Gommert, Cameron Hooper, Erica Lynch, Austin Madsen, Genevieve Myers, Sereniti Patterson, Micheal Rodriguez, Daniel Salazar and Mimansha Shrestha.

See the Information Page for a complete list of which student appears in which short play, along with the Production Staff.

Below are students pictured in their Love/Sick shirts.

Thank you to the Quiroz family for hosting the 2019 Thespian Christmas Party.

In a statewide contest, Temple High School was named as one of six Outstanding Troupes for the 2019-2020 school year by the Texas Thespians. Below is a photo showing students in their convention t-shirts holding the banner presented at the convention awards ceremonies.

     Temple High's Thespian Troupe was named an All-Star Troupe at the state convention. The award is based on a troupe display created by each troupe. Out of the approximately 310 high-school troupes attending, only 23 were recognized with the All-Star Award. Temple had previously been named one of six Outstanding Texas Troupes for 2019-2020 (see separate article),
     Temple's Mask Making Team placed second in the state. The team included Kylie Burke, Olivia Cabrera, Kelsi Seiter and Morgan Madsen.
     Temple's short film entry, "Thirst", received nominations for best directing, best ensemble comedy, and best performance in a comedy (Daniel Salazar).
     Temple performed a shortened version of its play Wilderness to a room full of students and directors. The room held almost 500 people.
     Olivia Cabrera's technical entry for makeup received a perfect score and was one of three selected to be honored at the all-convention closing ceremony.
     All other technical entries (theatre marketing, lighting design, sound design and set design) received superior ratings (the highest possible score). The group musical team also received a superior rating. A superior score means you qualified for advancement to the national contest.

NEW — FACEBOOK PHOTO ALBUM from Convention

Temple has been named one of six Texas Thespians Outstanding Troupes for 2019-2020. The announcement was made November 7. The group will have a special video featured during an all-convention event November 21-23 in Grapevine. Temple will also be presented with an Outstanding Troupe Banner at the awards ceremony and will pose for a photo with the banner.
     Other troupes winning the award include James E. Taylor High School (Katy), Denison High School, Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy, Texas High School (Texarkana) and John and Randolph Foster High School (Richmond, Lamar Consolidated ISD). Last year 283 high school troupes participated in the annual convention with over 8200 people in attendance.