The cast and crew of “Little Women” showcased their passion for competitive theatre at the end of October as they competed in the TAPPS 6A/5A District 4 event. A total of five schools performed their plays with the top two advancing to the State event. This year’s cast features an impressive depth of female actresses that Concordia has been blessed with, as well as some incredible crew members that help transform the stage over 10 times during the 40-minute show.
Second Baptist School (Houston, TX) finished as District IV Champion, Concordia was District Runner-Up, and Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School (Beaumont, TX) finished 3rd overall. Lutheran South Academy (Houston, TX) and The Woodlands Christian Academy rounded out the schools that did not place. Second Baptist and Concordia advanced to the State Competition which will feature only eight schools from TAPPS 6A and 5A divisions from four districts.
For their efforts on stage, seven Crusaders received special honors following the district competition:
All-Star Crew Member:
- Ingrid Buchwald ’24 as Stage Manager
All-Star Cast Members:
- Melissa Oblinger ’24 for her role as Beth March
- Haleigh Everage ’25 for her role as Amy March
- Major Meyer ’25 for his role as Theodore “Laurie” Laurence
Honorable Mention Cast Members:
- Megan Brady ’24 for her role as Meg March
- Rebecca Kralowetz ’24 for her role as Beth March
- Sarah Powell ’27 for her role as Marmee March
The rules for TAPPS’ One Act Play state that the play or selection of scenes from a show must be no more than 40 minutes in length and use a unit set (painted gray) of the same pieces that all schools use. Also, any additional set pieces and props must fit inside a 10’x10’ staging area. The cast includes a maximum of 15 actors and no more than 5 crew members. These rules keep the competition at a basic starting point for all schools regardless of size of school or budget.
The State Competition will be Nov. 8-9 in Kerrville, TX. The following schools and productions will compete:
- Southwest Christian School (Fort Worth, TX) – “The Sweet Science of Bruising”
- Grace Community School (Tyler, TX) – “The 39 Steps: Even More Abridged”
- Antonian College Preparatory High School (San Antonio, TX) – “The Last Lifeboat”
- Second Baptist School (Houston, TX) – “The Infamous Soothing System of Professor Maillard”
- Fort Worth Christian – “I Never Saw Another Butterfly”
- John Paul II (Plano, TX) – “Metamorphoses”
- TMI Episcopal (San Antonio, TX) – “The Blind”
- Concordia Lutheran High School (Tomball, TX) – “Little Women”
Each school will have 15 minutes to load their show materials into the theatre, then have a 40-minute technical practice, before performing in the afternoon. Concordia will be the final school to perform on Day 2 of the competition at approx. 5:45 pm on Thursday, Nov. 9th. Awards will be given that evening which include placements for the top 6 schools with points toward the Henderson Cup on the line, as well as All-Star Cast & Crew and Honorable Mention Cast.
This will be Concordia’s first time reaching the State Competition since 2019 (no member of Concordia’s show has ever competed at State as the current seniors were in 8th grade). From 2014-2019, Concordia never finished lower than 5th place at State with a State Title in 2014 with “Sweet Nothing in My Ear” and a State Runner-Up in 2015 with “Les Misérables.”
Concordia other state finishing shows included:
- 2016 TAPPS State 5th Place – “Ville du Havre”
- 2017 TAPPS State 3rd Place – “These Shining Lives”
- 2018 TAPPS State 4th Place – “The Diary of Anne Frank”
- 2019 TAPPS State 3rd Place – “The Cages We Build”
The last three productions that did not advance beyond the district competition included:
- 2020 – “The Lottery”
- 2021 – “Stages”
- 2022 – “Robin Hood”
For more information about the theatre program at Concordia, visit www.sadernationtx.com/theatre