After a 30-plus-year streak of placing at district was snapped, Sealy High School’s One Act Play simply wanted to advance past the first round this year. The momentum generated following first-place finishes at district and bi-district with its production of Stoneface, however, made everyone believe state was a real possibility.

“Going into this year, we were like ‘All we care about is making it passed district,’ that was the biggest hurdle,” senior Jackson Osborne said in a May 10 interview. “Then after that, when we made it past bi-district, we said, ‘Let’s take this all the way.’ Everyone in the program are really good people so we all worked for each other.”

Another first-place finish at regionals propelled Sealy to its eighth state appearance where it earned fourth place in Class 4A. Seniors RJ Wigfall (All-Star Cast) and Cody Prause (Honorable Mention All-Star Cast) garnered honors for the Tiger Stage Company at the biggest competition in Texas.

Prause and Osborne were responsible for playing the main character, Buster Keaton, in his present-day and younger form, respectively. The pair earned Best Actor at district and Prause won the same award at bi-district where Osborne earned All-Star Cast.

“I think we were all wanting to get passed district and it was cool to go all the way to state for something because our freshman year us three (he, Osborne and Wigfall) made it to state and it was cool to go back there again,” Prause said.

Wigfall, who was listed in the playbill as Roscoe Arbuckle / Charlie Chaplin / Bad Actor, earned All-Star Cast honors from both the district and bi-district competitions and was proud to etch his name in history with this group.

“It’s becoming part of a legacy because state is the ultimate goal of competing so now that we’ve made it to state, people can look up to us and say, ‘I want to be there,’” Wigfall said.

Beau Moehl and Morgan Smith similarly enjoyed joining a select group of individuals.

“It’s special to be able to do this, it was a really good experience,” said Moehl, who earned All-Star Crew at district then earned spots on the Best Overall Crew and All-Star Tech Crews at bi-district. “It was special to be part of it, it’s not something everyone gets to do.”

“It was just a phenomenal feeling knowing that we’re the fourth-best play in the state for 4A,” Smith said. “Out of all the eight times people have gone to state from Sealy, it’s a big group of people but it’s really a small group that actually get the experience of going and performing on the state stage knowing you’re one of the best in the state.”

Darby Sanders elaborated on that and said, “It was cool to know that we were there and we saw some of the other plays at state and we were to par with them.”

That group of six seniors not only made state in one act play but also in other disciplines as well.

Smith and Sanders both made state for choir solos, Moehl earned state for percussion ensemble and Osborne competed in the state poetry interpretation competition. Prause and Wigfall both made state for choir solos and made all-state choir and Prause also competed in the state prose interpretation competition and Wigfall in state theatrical design.

Osborne said it was a special moment to end his theatre career on a run to state and felt like it had come full circle from his freshman season.

“We got to see some really good actors and some really good leaders come through and that was very intimidating as a little freshman sitting on the sidelines,” he said. “But it was also something that made me think, ‘I want to be a part of that,’ so when we got there I felt like I was standing toe to toe with the guys I looked up to freshman year.”

Sanders also relished the chance to compete on a state level in her final go-around although this was a little different than her previous trips to state.

“I made it to state individually for choir but never in a group setting so this was a whole different experience state-wise,” she said. “I remember my goal was to make it past district, that’s what I wanted that’s what would have made me happy. But as we kept going, I didn’t want it to end because I knew one act was ending, high school was ending, it was all kind of coming to an end. Then we went to state and it’s a happy ending, it’s a great way to end such a strange year.” Another thing that

Another thing that made this trip to state special was doing so alongside neighboring Bellville, whose BHS Playmakers made their first trip to the top competition in program history. Sealy Director Erin Moore said she was able to offer some guidance to Bellville Director Ernesto Manzano and enjoyed representing the county together.

“I was trying to tell everyone that it is just so rare. Bellville and Sealy have never gone to state in football or any other sport together, and theatre is like a sport it’s a team. You’ve got to have all 22 people on board one hundred percent of every second or it’s not going to happen,” Moore said. “It’s so good to see the arts thriving in Austin County, because I’ve always said that our theatre departments are the best kept secrets in Austin County because people don’t realize how good it is. Then every time someone comes to a play for the first time, they say, ‘I didn’t know, this is like a movie, even better,’ or they’ll come to a musical and they say, ‘This is just so good,’ and I just think people discount it because a lot of people do not grow up with programs like this.”

Moore also said the 2021 state run provided full-circle moments for fellow directors Matthew Kent and Elena Munguia

“Kent is our choir director, he is alumni and he went to state as a student in one act play,” Moore said. “This year, we have a new art teacher, Elena Munguia, and she went to state in 2014 as a student with us. Now, she got to go to state as a director … and that confidence and that leadership and that experience really helps.”

Sealy High School One Act Play will perform public production of Stoneface at the high school’s Golson Auditorium this Sunday, May 16, at 7 p.m. with free attendance. Masks are required for entry.