Group Interpretation advances to state
“Once More Upon a Time” competes once more
The cast of “Once More Upon a Time” could not be more thrilled to compete at the state competition this weekend. The cast is comprised of Toni Sarussi, Karolina Granat, Taliana O’Connor, Neha Samuel, Kaitlyn O’Donnell, Barbie Lesa, Carson Fischer, Jessica Popper, Belle Zogby, Shea Holt, Livi Jotautas, Ava Jotautas and Sarah Hill.
March 22, 2023
The Group Interpretation advanced to state on March 18, placing third out of eight performances at the Thornton sectional. The team is ecstatic to compete in the IHSA State Final this weekend in Chatham at Glenwood High School.
The cast put in a tremendous amount of effort to get to where they are now, taking critiques they received after their first performance and correcting them to achieve maximum potential.
“I felt like every single person in our GI really buckled down and I think we massively improved,” junior Kaitlyn O’Donnell said.
The directors are just as excited about the Group Interpretation performance advancing as the cast. Leslie Kane, for one, is thankful that adapting the short story “Once More Upon a Time” into a GI script was worth it.
“I feel great knowing that the hard work has paid off. It is a lot more work adapting a short novel into a script rather than taking a movie script,” co-director Leslie Kane said. “Knowing that the extra work paid off is great.”
In addition to placing third as a team, many cast members received all-sectional cast recognition for their performances. Performers must be nominated by three judges to receive this award. The recipients included Jessica Popper for her performance as Ambrose, Barbie Lesa for her performance as Imelda, Kaitlyn O’Donnel for her performance as Cape, Talianna O’Connor for her performance as Innkeeper/Ensemble, Shea Holt for her performance as Charming/Ensemble and Belle Zogby for her performance as the musician.
