Chipley High School theatre students recognized for excellence at district festival

On October 3-4, students from Chipley High School’s Brickyard Theatre Company made an impressive debut at the Florida Thespians District Festival. 

Students travelled from Washington County to Panama City where they competed against 27 schools from District 1. The troupe earned an overall rating of Excellent for their one-act play, and several students who also competed individually earned Excellent. Adelaide Campbell, Ana Phipps, and Khloe Nguyen earned Excellent for their Small Group Acting; Annika Brianne Hogan earned Excellent in Theatre Marketing; Raylen Heistand earned Excellent in the Musical Theatre Solo category; Abigail Morgan Black and Kinley Wiles earned Excellent in Duet Acting; and Jonathan Patton earned Excellent in the Solo Acting division.

Brycen Evans and Chase Sims each earned Superior ratings on their Solo Musical Theatre performances and have been invited to compete against top theatre students across Florida at the state competition in March. Sims was also chosen as one of the competition’s All-Star Actors based on his performance and stage presence during the one-act play.

In a social media post, Washington County School district quoted Director Justin Conley saying, “Our students rose to the occasion and represented Chipley with professionalism, creativity, and passion. To earn an Excellent rating on our one-act and multiple individual awards is an incredible achievement. Having one of our students named an All-Star Actor in our very first year is the icing on the cake.” 

Following their first district competition, the Brickyard Theatre Company plans to continue growing the program to provide this experience for students in Chipley High School.