The Charles Henderson High School theater students will leave today for the University of North Alabama in Florence to compete in the state high school drama competition.

The CHHS theater students competed in the district competition at Opelika High School in November and 20 of the students qualified for the state competition.

“Our students did really well at district,” said Jessica Boothe, drama teacher. “Our studio theater ensemble won ‘Best Ensemble,’ which is a best overall award. The award is presented to the ensemble that is the most polished and works together best. It was a top award and we were honored to receive it.”

At the district competition, the CHHS ensemble performed “Drama Geek” to a packed house. No technical value is assigned to the studio theater competition.

“You can’t have any technical support,” Boothe said. “And, the only props allowed are three cubes or boxes, two chairs and a table that are provided for the competition.

The Charles Henderson theater students received top scores in four categories, the most top scores awarded to any school.

Jonathan Carswell received the top award in male solo comedic novice category and Victoria Outlaw received the top female solo comedic award in the novice category. Sydney Schroeder was the top award winner in the female solo comedic varsity category.

“The novice awards are presented to students who are competing in a category for the first time,” Boothe said. “The varsity awards are presented to those who have competed in the category previously.”

Luke Herndon and Kathy Kelly topped the duet comedic acting category.

“There was a wide variety of categories ranging from the silly to the serious,” Boothe said. “We had several students who competed in the dramatic categories, three in dramatic monologues and one in reading theater.”

Boothe said she was pleased with the performance of her students at the district competition and believes they will be competitive on the state level.

“We’ve had a strong year and the kids have an excellent chance do well at the state level,” she said. “The categories of competition categories include comedic, dramatic, reading theater, dual acting, duet singing, studio theater and ensembles.

The state competition will open tonight and conclude with the awards presentation Saturday night.

The Troy City Schools Education Foundation provided the funds for the drama students to participate in the competitions.