Aug 26, 2026
On Monday, November 18th, sixteen high school students from Central Decatur’s drama department attended the 27th Annual High School Theatre Festival at Simpson University. In the morning, students could choose to attend two workshops from the thirteen choices offered. Sessions included Improvisation, Costumes for the Stage, Stage Management, Directing, Stage Make-Up, and Dialects, to name just a few. After the workshops, students were able to see Simpson’s production of Speed Dating, a comedic one-act opera, written by Iowa native Michael Ching.
Senior Blake Foote said, “It was a great experience, and what I liked about the play was the sheer amount of songs and the jazz piano playing the songs the entire performance.”
Junior Addison Brown added, “It was very cool seeing other kids’ perspective on theatre and hearing about the different types of shows they’ve done. It was very awesome being around students that I have a lot in common with.”
The CD drama department looks forward to the festival every year and hopes to continue attending in order to encourage participation in theatre and the fine arts.