The high school one-act play (HSOAP) company placed fourth as alternate advancing play at area competition at Graham on March 29 and also received the following individual awards:
All-Star Cast- seniors Kelsey Aultman as ‘Sybil’ and Emily Shephard as ‘Aunt Ola’
Honorable Mention- junior Jaycie Holley as ‘Tood’
All-Star Crew- freshman Kori Keeter
Director Leslie Graham said the company’s performance at area was their best to date.
“I couldn’t have asked for anyone to anything better,” Graham said. “We had some obstacles to overcome like our light technician being sick along with sport conflicts, but we handled all of those things the best we could and pulled off an outstanding performance.
Aultman said she was dismayed with the results from area but still took them in stride.

“It’s always a fun experience to get far like that, even if it’s not all the way to region or state competition,” Aultman said.
Keeter said she has ha a very successful and fun first season of HSOAP.
“Every practice felt like they were worth coming to and always came with new surprises,” Keeter said. “It was really good for my first year and I liked it much better then OAP in junior high.”
At their bi-district competition on March 21 at Graham, they won third place advancing play and the individual awards were the following:
Best Performer- Kelsey Aultman as ‘Sybil’
All-Star Cast- Jaycie Holley as ‘Tood’
Honorable Mention- sophomore Brooke Smith as ‘Weetsie’
Best Sound Technician- Kori Keeter
Outstanding Crew- seniors Candace Taggart and Jill Liles, junior Leiah Graham, freshmen Shianne Bracey, Chloe Hibbs and Kori Keeter
At district competition on March 1 hosted here in the ACHS auditorium, the troupe placed first and won the following individual awards:
Best Performer- Kelsey Aultman as ‘Sybil’
All-Star Cast- seniors Kadence Huffman as ‘Kate Miller’ and Fallon Blair as ‘Tommy’
Honorable Mention- Jaycie Holley as ‘Tood,’ Brooke Smith as ‘Weetsie’ and senior Rebecca Taggart as ‘Addie Mae’
Best Light Technician- Candace Taggart
Outstanding Crew- Candace Taggart, Jill Liles, Leiah Graham, Shianne Bracey, Chloe Hibbs and Kori Keeter
Aultman said her overall experience over the past six years she’s done OAP has tremendously affected her life and future plans.
“OAP has made me more outgoing and honestly helped me appreciate all of the hard work everyone in the company does, especially the directors,” Aultman said. “I want to at least keep acting a little bit in the future (even if it’s just local theatre), because it’s something I am very passionate about.”
With this being the end of the 2022-23 HSOAP season, Graham said she wanted to leave one last message for the seven seniors leaving OAP.
“Thank you for adjusting pretty easily to the director duo of Graham and Nogle. Thank you for stepping up to learn new things and offering ideas and suggestions to help improve the show. Thank you for your leadership,” Graham said. “At times when Nogle and I were struggling to get anywhere with students, I know some of you stepped in to rally the group and help motivate your peers to spend the extra time or call an extra practice to work on OAP. You leave some big shoes to fill on stage and behind the scenes.”