Little Theatre Recognizes Students at End-of-Year Celebration

Belleville West Little Theatre held a virtual celebration of its 2019-2020 season on Monday, May 18. The following students were recognized for their contribution to the theatre program:

BEST FRESHMAN
Owen Wilder
Jerry Aplin (nominee)
Wil Bazar (nominee)
Wini James (nominee)
Sydni Juhas (nominee)
Paige Pratt (nominee)
Aloisia Rickert (nominee)
Lucy Wilson (nominee)

BEST FEMALE ACTOR
Delaney Holliday
JoJo Holm (nominee)
Emma Koontz (nominee)
Elise Moore (nominee)
Aidan Schweitzer (nominee)

BEST MALE ACTOR
Jaylon Muchison
Alex Johnson (nominee)
Maxwell Juhas (nomnee)
Danny Laney (nominee)
August McGuire (nominee)

BEST FEMALE TECHNICIAN
Anna Baldus
Abigail Blakey (nominee)
Alexis Herbeck (nominee)
Emma O’Donnell (nominee)
Carmen Wilder (nominee)

BEST MALE TECHNICIAN
Evan Murray
Luke Schauster
Mason Hagarty (nominee)
Alex Huelskamp (nominee)
Ayden Thurnau (nominee)

BEST OVERALL CONTRIBUTION
Maxwell Juhas
Anna Baldus (nominee)
Abigail Blakey (nominee)
Jaylon Muchison (nominee)
Jayden Touchette (nominee)
Carmen Wilder (nominee)

GOLDEN MASKS AWARD
(presented to students who have participated
in every show during their high school years)
Abigail Blakey
JoJo Holm
Alex Johnson
Danny Laney
Luke Schauster

Directors also recognized the twenty-one senior members of Thespian Troupe #369.  In order to become members of this honor organization, theatre students must dedicate at least 300 hours to the BW theatre program (with a minimum of 150 hours in backstage work).  The graduating Thespians are:

Anna Baldus
Emily Bechtold
Abigail Blakey
Owen Buescher
Shelbie Descamps
Delaney Holliday
JoJo Holm
Alex Huelskamp
Alex Johnson
Maxwell Juhas
Isa Karathanos
Emma Koontz
Danny Laney
Jaylon Muchison
Evan Murray
Emma O’Donnell
Mary O’Donnell
Luke Schauster
Aidan Schweitzer
Jayden Touchette
Carmen Wilder

BW Graduate is Finalist for National Award

Recent Belleville West graduate Jaylon Muchison is one of six finalists for the 2020 National Speech & Debate Association’s Student of the Year Award. This honor is based on competitive speech success, academic achievement, and community involvement. The organization will reveal the winner on June 18. Congratulations, Jaylon!

Speech Students Score in Online National Tournament

In their first year participating in the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions (held online this year), the BW Speech and Acting Team had three competitors finish in the top ranks.  Senior Jayden Touchette was a quarter-finalist in Prose Reading.  Senior Jaylon Muchison was a semi-finalist in Humorous Interpretation.  Senior Delaney Holliday won the championship in Prose Reading and took second place in Poetry Reading.  Congratulations!

BW National English Honor Society Inducts First Class

This year, the BW English Department welcomes the first class of students into the Belleville West chapter of the National English Honor Society.  The 35 students in this group have maintained at least a 3.5 (unweighted) English GPA through four years of high school, have participated in small projects on campus to promote the language arts, and have volunteered for several large projects (such as the fall yard sale, the holiday book drive, and the spring puzzle night) this year.

Because the chapter is unable to hold a traditional induction ceremony this year, the sponsors put together this presentation to honor the commitment and achievement of the students.  Congratulations to these outstanding members of the class of 2020!