MADISON – Countless hours of memorizing lines, staying in character and convincing the audience to suspend belief resulted in a huge payoff for actors and technical crew in Bob Jones Theatre.

After qualifying at district competition, Bob Jones participated in the state-level Walter Trumbauer Theatre Festival at the University of North Alabama on Dec. 1-2.

For 2023, Bob Jones performed “Where Words Once Were” by Finegan Kruckemeyer, a drama “set in a dystopian time where language is rationed, a sentence can get you sentenced and the silent are rising,” according to Mary Davis, drama teacher and director. Davis handles the on-stage ensemble of actors, while her colleague Jesse Tilton mentors the ‘techies’ or technical crew.

Awards for the one-act play included “Best in Show” and “Best Costumes.” Harley Dauma earned the “Alabama Conference of Theatre Scholarship for Acting”; only two of these scholarships are presented for the entire state.

Qualifying for the “All Star Cast” at the state festival were Elizabeth Booth, Harley Dauma, Rian Edwards, Jaxon McClanathan and Drayton Walker.

“In Individual Event Awards, we had 14 trophies for first, second and third places. Our students earned 50 Superior ratings and 28 Excellent ratings,” Davis said.

Numerous individuals and duets in various categories by Bob Jones students earned place wins:

* Solo Pantomime — Suzanne Roach (novice), third place.

* Reader’s Theatre — Harley Dauma and T.J. Sanders (Intermediate), third; Teagan Leo and Arden Vanzoeren (Intermediate), first; Liam Robertson and Evan Willis (Varsity), first.

* Dramatic Monologue (1975-2004) — Lew Petersson (Intermediate), third.

* Comedic Monologue (1975-2004) — Harley Dauma (Intermediate), third.

* Dramatic Monologue (2005 to present) — Tevin Sheehy (Intermediate), third; Rian Edwards (Intermediate), first.

* Comedic Monologue (2005 to present) — Araceli Gomez (Novice), third; Anthony Rivera (Varsity), second.

* Duet Comedic Dialogue (pre-1975) — Olive Ball and Astrid Muffett (Intermediate), second.

* Duet Dramatic Dialogue (1975 to present) — Tera Jackson and Braden Koler (Intermediate), third; Liam Robertson and Dylan Henrie (Varsity), second. Andres Gamboa in Advanced Production class wrote Robertson and Henrie’s presentation.

* Duet Comedic Dialogue (1975 to present) — Cypress Bryce and Kate Hughes (Intermediate), third.

* Puppet Design — Olive Ball (Novice), third.

* Costume Design — Sophia Kessler (Varsity), second.

* Scenic Design — Maycie Dunkerley (Novice), third; Brandy Quach (Novice), second.