The 2020 NSAA Play Production Districts have concluded and a number of area schools will be competing for a State Play Production Championship at the Johnny Carson Theatre in Norfolk later this week.
The championship performances for Classes D1 and D2 will be held Wednesday, December 9; Classes C1 and C2 will be held Thursday, December 10; and Classes A and B will be held Friday, December 11.
The Cozad play production team will compete on Friday in Norfolk after they were able to win the B-5 District by one point over Aurora. Cozad performed “Elephant’s Graveyard” and earned a score of 177. Cozad will perform at 12:30 PM on Friday, December 11. According to the NSAA, Cozad has qualified for the NSAA State Championships 24 times, most recently in 2018.
Broken Bow also competed in the B-5 District and finished in 4th place with 172 points. They performed “Caution: Politricks.”
In the B-6 District, Gothenburg earned the top spot with “Humbug! A Christmas Carol” with 177 points. Qualifying for the Play Production Championships for the 10th time in school history, according to the NSAA, Gothenburg will perform on Friday, December 11 at 1:30 PM.
Loup City will be back at the State Championships after a 178 point performance in the C2-4 District and earning first-place votes from all three judges. Loup City performed the play “Diamond Dreams” and will be back on the stage Thursday, December 10 at 1:30 PM. According to the NSAA, Loup City has now qualified for the State Championships eight times in the last ten years, with runner-up finishes in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Stapleton was able to edge out Callaway by one point, 175 to 174 respectively, in the D1-5 District with their performance of “Silenced on Barbour Street.” Stapleton earned first-place votes from two judges, while Callaway earned one first-place vote as well as a perfect score from one judge for their performance of “The Last Illusion.” Stapleton will perform on Wednesday, December 9 at 4:30 PM.
According to the NSAA, this will be the first time Stapleton has competed in the State Championships in over 20 years, having last qualified in 1996 where they were state runner-up.
Arnold will be back at the State Championships after taking first in the D2-5 District with 176 points and three first-place votes from the judges for their performance of “Elephant’s Graveyard (Abridged Version).” According to the NSAA, Arnold has now qualified nine times for the State Championships and will look to improve on last year’s runner-up finish. They will perform on Wednesday, December 9 at 12:30 PM.
Other area teams competing in the D2-5 District included Ansley, Arcadia, and Thedford. Ansley performed “Soda Pop” and finished 2nd, Arcadia performed “The Very UnMerry Adventures of Robin Hood” and finished 4th, and Thedford finished 7th with their performance of “Brownstone 213.”
Other area schools that competed, but did not qualify for the NSAA Play Production Championships:
C2-5 District: Anselmo-Merna “The Twilight Cone” 7th Place
D1-4 District: Sumner-Eddyville-Miller “Orientation” 8th Place
D2-4 District: Litchfield “The Infamous Soothing System of Professor Maillard” 3rd Place
D2-6 District: Mullen “A Murdered Mystery” 4th Place; McPherson County “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves of the Old Republic” 5th Place
State Play Production Championship information, including select performances that will be live-streamed through News Channel Nebraska, complete district results, state performance schedule, and more is available on the NSAA website (nsaahome.org).
