Greensboro, Ga. (February 15, 2021) – Lake Oconee Academy’s high school theatre troupe won the GHSA Class A Public State One-Act Play Competition for the second year in a row at Crisp County High School in Cordele, Ga., on Saturday, February 13. The troupe won the competition in 2019-2020 with the musical Quilters and placed 2nd in 2018 with All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.  

This year the troupe took on a completely new project entitled Life Changers, an original musical with script and songs all written by cast, crew, and staff members. The show follows three characters struggling with life who each stumble upon an app that promises to make life better for them. Upon downloading it, they are sucked into a world in which they must realize the burdens they carry, face their inner demons, and ultimately examine themselves to find the beauty within.  

The process began back in September 2020 when students auditioned for this generative project.  The group initially selected a source text, The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Drawing upon concepts and themes from the text, the students began to write original poems, short stories, and internal dialogue scenes.  After combining various original pieces, they worked to create storylines for each of the three main characters. For the next few months, the cast and crew added to the script with facilitation from their director and guest artist/creative consultant, Henry Scott. Original songs were also added, including 1993, with music and lyrics by Remi Baker and Helen Garcia-Carreras, This Old Guitar, with music and lyrics by Elisa Garcia-Carreras, and I Don’t Know Where to Go From Here with music and lyrics by Henry Scott.

At the state competition, LOA’s show competed against five other plays and musicals from Irwin County High School, Bryan County High School, Dublin High School, Furlow Charter School, and Georgia Military College Prep. All-Star Cast Awards were given to Gabrielle Gruszynski for her role as Dolce, one of the “app-keepers” and Elisa Garcia-Carreras for her portrayal of Casey, a girl who lost her father in a military accident. The three judges gave the show scores of 94, 98, and 98. Life Changers was also selected as a feature show for the 2021 Virtual Georgia Thespian Conference (ThesCon) to be held virtually February 25-27, 2021.  

Cast and crew members include:  Remi Baker, Walker Cannon, Elisha Copeland, Shelby Davis, Julia Kate Dixon, Elisa Garcia-Carreras, Gabrielle Gruszynski, Lauren Harris, Kyra Jackson, Genna Lawson, Rylie McDonald, Tamia Miley-Williams, and Jacob Moore. Live music was provided by Mary Lynn Luke and Helen Garcia-Carreras. The show was directed by Lora Garcia-Carreras with assistant director, Kelly Ingle.  For more on LOA’s state championship win, follow @LOATheatre on Facebook and Instagram.