Twenty-one members of Mount St. Mary Academy Thespian Troupe 8462 in Little Rock traveled to Russellville for the 2025 Arkansas State Thespian Festival Feb. 13-15. The students participated in interactive workshops, competed in various theatrical performance and technical theater challenges and networked with other theater students and teachers from across the state.
The event also included opportunities to audition for college scholarships as well as earn bids to this summer’s International Thespian Festival at Indiana University Bloomington. Four MSM Thespians earned superior ratings for their performances: seniors Maya Johnson and Isabella Nguyen in the category of duet musical theater, senior Annabelle Owen for solo acting, and sophomore Harper Peairson for lighting design.
Nguyen also earned a superior rating for playwriting, and the entire troupe received a superior rating in the group musical category. The achievement qualified these students to compete for a coveted National Thespy Award at the International Thespian Festival in Indiana June 22-28.
Four additional students received excellent ratings at the event: senior Caroline Cash in solo acting and juniors Jordyn Lane, Lauren Lasseigne and Valeria Mares in solo musical theater.
Troupe members celebrated several other accomplishments during the three-day event. Cash was recognized as a 2025 Honor Thespian. Johnson, Owen, Peairson and junior Drew Powell placed first in the costume design challenge. Finally, Johnson, Nguyen and Owen all received several college scholarship offers.
