Jude Magnotti ‘26
EE Editor-In-Chief
Trumbull has long been a community dedicated to establishing and rewarding excellence within the arts. This commitment manifests in many forms through classes at school, programs at home, and of course extracurricular activities. Out of all the THS extracurriculars that embody Trumbull’s value on performance, the THeSpians, THS’s very own theater club, might be the organization that exemplifies this trait the most.
Having been a tour de force in Connecticut’s High School theater circuit for multiple decades, Trumbull’s reliable and star-stunning plays and musical have long been one of the crown jewels of THS. Long directed and managed by English teacher Ms. Jessica Spillane, the THeSpians have never failed to deliver on their promise of an awe-inspiring show.
This past year, they had the opportunity to put on their own interpretations of two unique productions through the fall play and spring musical. In the fall, the student-directed cast of dozens of students came together to perform the brilliant Harry Potter spoof Puffs. Later down the line, even more students participated in bringing the renaissance to life by bringing the Shakespearean spoof comedy Something Rotten to the fans.
In lieu of these achievements, Trumbull theater was recognized by the Seven Angles Theater of Waterbury with fourteen Halo nominations. These spun from supporting actors, to lighting and design, to the best musical overall!
Based in Waterbury, the Seven Angles Theater directs an annual Halo awards that serves as an Oscar-like award show for high school theater. Trumbull’s nominations this year followed a trend of THS attending and receiving awards at the ceremony.
Ready to seize the day, everyone in theater got dressed up in their best suits and dresses to represent this beacon of creativity among twenty other Fairfield county schools.
In addition to actually attending the ceremony, and looking the best out of any school while doing it, Trumbull opened the awards ceremony with an exciting medley between the Something Rotten songs Welcome To The Renaissance and A Musical. Not only did this provide one last opportunity for performers to say goodbye to the show, it drew standing ovations and screaming chants from energized students in the crowd. After the performance, students sat eagerly in the crowd as over twenty different schools performed unique acts from their respective shows in between announcements.
Trumbull started the night off strong after junior Britton McGrath won best male supporting actor for his role as Will Shakespeare in the musical. This trend only continued when McGrath and senior George Blake won best student directors for the fall play Puffs.
While Trumbull would later lose some of the nominations they were hoping to win, they still managed to get one more after the Something Rotten stage managers took home the best stage manager award.
More important than the awards, however, was the experience of students not only being able to perform in front of peers from other schools, but to see themselves and others recognized for their hard work and commitment. Needless to say, it was not nearly about the outcome of the Halos, but the journey to get there that made the night special. Trumbull will only continue its trend of performance arts as they begin the long journey back to next year’s Halos with the same energy, passion, and devotion they always display. This time with even more awards under their belt to show for it…