Lafayette Theatre Newsletter

Now that the school year is coming to a close, we want to take a moment to celebrate our graduating seniors, let you know about when Lafayette Theatre students are performing this summer, reflect on classes, and let you know important information for next year!

Thank you for a fantastic 2025-2026 school year!

We are SO proud of the class of 2026 and all of their accomplishments on and off stage! We are sure that their futures are bright and we cannot wait to see what they accomplish next with their collaborative spirits, senses of humor, great work ethic, and positivity!

From your first class to your final bow, It has been a joy to see you grow in class, onstage, backstage, and through thespians! Scroll to see cast photos from over the years as we take a walk down memory lane before their graduation Thursday!

Are you wondering where these students will go next? Check out our Facebook and Instagram page to see the senior shout outs!

This year's theatre 4 seniors have performed in the class plays "Peter and Wendy" and "Anne of Green Gables!"

This year's SCAPA 4 seniors have performed in "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" and "TRAP!"

You may have also seen this year's seniors in "Lily Plants a Garden" or "James and the Giant Peach!"

You have have also seen this year's seniors onstage in any of our winter musicals their freshman year in "Beauty and the Beast," sophomore year in "Fiddler on the Roof," junior year in "Anastasia," or senior year in "The Music Man!"

Over the weekend we were honored to attend the KPA Bradley Awards in Louisville, Kentucky! The KPA Bradley Awards seeks to build community amongst Kentucky and Southern Indiana high school theatre programs, celebrate young artists, and elevate the importance of theatre arts education.

Out of 35 participating high schools from around the state and Southern Indiana we were honored to be one of five schools nominated for awards in 5 different categories!

Clay House was one of five female performers nominated for Best Actress in a Musical! She performed in a featured solo medley along with the opening number and closing number medleys with high school representatives from across the state! We are so proud of her and loved getting to see her shine onstage!

Blake was one of 5 students from across Kentucky and Southern Indiana nominated for "Best Supporting Actor in a Musical" we are so proud of him!

Hadley was one of 5 students from across Kentucky and Southern Indiana nominated for "Best Supporting Actress in a Musical" we are so proud of her!

Our cast of "The Music Man" was one of five schools from across Kentucky and Southern Indiana nominated nominated for Outstanding Ensemble Performance! We are so proud of their hard work!

Our cast of "The Music Man" was one of five schools from across Kentucky and Southern Indiana nominated nominated for Outstanding Dance Execution! We are so proud of each cast member along with the crew and student choreographers for making this possible!

We are so thankful to South Elkhorn Christian Church for stepping in at the last second and helping us host our Thespian Honors Society Induction! This year we inducted 40 new members into our troupe, gave out awards, celebrated our year together, and honored the seniors! We are so excited for next year's events, be on the look out for Thespian Meetings and make sure to get KTF on your calendars!

Everyone in the Thespian Troupe is eligible to attend the Kentucky Thespians Festival in Bowling Green, KY, November 5 - 7! More information will be coming next school year!

Co - Presidents - Grace Hellard and Reece Owens

Congratulations to our Thespian Seniors!

We are so excited to announce that next year we will be performing "This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing" as our Fall Play in October and the musical "Matilda!"

We will hold auditions for "This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing" after school August 13th and 14th from 3:30-5:30. Performances will be in Beeler Auditorium - Thursday, October 8th-Saturday, October 10th!

Looking for more information? Visit our website!

We are currently working to finalize all performance dates for Lafayette Theatre next school year! Do you have the Google Calendar synced to your phone? If so, as Ms. Gorrell adds in audition and performance dates, they will automatically be added to your Lafayette Theatre calendar!

Additionally, we will update our website, social media, and send out Parent Square information with the full school year calendar by the first day of school! We are so excited to make memories and theatre with you all again soon!

We are so thankful for each and every creative, collaborative, hardworking student that has been a part of our program this year! They have worked outside their comfort zone both in class and during rehearsals to build ensemble and create truly memorable moments! Read below to hear about Zella's Intro to Theatre experience and see an article about Theatre 3 written by Harper Hudkins!

"Intro to Theatre has been such a wonderful experience for me! I met new people and created friendships in the class and I was exposed to new aspects of theatre I had never heard of before. The course was fun and interactive and I looked forward to the class every day!" - Zella, 9th grade student in Intro to Theatre

During the 25-26 school year, a total of 20 students ranging in grades from sophomore to senior

year, gathered to be taught by Cassady Gorrell. “I had never done any kind of class for theatre

before, so actually getting feedback was incredible and helped me grow a ton in my acting,” said

Junior Wyatt Potter. During this school year, these students have evolved from each unit of

learning.

The first unit of the first semester started out with the Ensemble unit, these 20 students learned

about one another and how they can collaborate through the art of theatre. Junior Maya Duggal

explained that “the ensemble unit at the beginning of the year, I thought that was a great way to

boost morale at the top.” After becoming a better unit of a class, these students refined their

acting skills by refreshing their learnings of Beats and Tactics. In the Thespys unit, students

figured out how to perform and expressed themselves at a professional level. Junior Simon

Fowler expressed how they “love the Thespy unit, because it was so fun.” Later on, these

students were taught the methods of Strasberg and Sanislavski and how to incorporate the

masters' techniques into their own acting.

In the second semester, students started back up with another ensemble unit to refresh their

connections to one another that they may have lost over the winter break before jumping

immediately into picking up and working on their class play “Too Many Detectives at the Murder

Mansion," or as they often called it, “Too Many Detectives.” In this class play, students had both

an acting and technical role in producing the final result that sold out on the second night. Maya

Duggal expressed how “I think taking the role of Ms. Marple in the class play really helped me

improve my physicalization of vocal inflection as an actor.” Many students agreed that the class

play was their favorite part of Theatre 3. Junior Esme Morris explained how preparing for the

class play was her favorite part of the class, stating that “it felt like we were all just like, we were

all in it together because we all had the same goal of making this play possible.”

Overall, the Theatre 3 class of Lafayette High School taught the students how to work together

as a unit, refine their understanding of body expressions, practiced performing, and learned

techniques from the masters of theatre before performing an amazing class play at the end of

the year. We are all so proud of these students and how far they have come from the start of

this year!

There are some summer camps still taking registration and some year round companies like ACTivate, Woodford Theatre Young Artists, and LCT's Companies program that audition during the summer or in August! Go ahead and get those dates on your calendar if you are interested!

TECHNICIANS - there is an opportunity to job shadow a professional stage manager during the tech of "Its a Grand Night for Singing" if you are interested, email Ms. Gorrell!

We are working to share these out throughout the summer on social media!