Lights! Camera! Trophies!

COEUR d'ALENE — Lights! Camera! Trophies!

After taking second place on their home turf at the District I and II Drama Competition last month, Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy students impressed judges at the Idaho High School Activities Association 2022 State Drama Championship last weekend and brought home their fourth consecutive 1-3A title.

Hosted Dec. 2 and 3 at Coeur d’Alene High School, more than 500 students from 44 different Idaho schools gathered to compete in a variety of acting and technical performances.

Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy theater arts and communications teacher Dana Fleming was overjoyed with her team’s effort.

“I just expect them to do their best and we just kind of see where the cards fall," she said. "But for the past four years, they’ve fallen toward a victory."

Stitching together a winning streak in a judged event such as drama is no small feat.

Fleming explained that unlike a sport such as cross county, which she has coached in the past, results from a drama competition are largely preference-based and rely on the expertise of judges.

“In the drama championship, I always tell my students to take everything with a grain of salt because it’s entirely subjective in some ways," Fleming said. "At the end of the day, it really comes down to a judge's preference and you’ll see that diversity of judges chose to be their first place.”

Scoring and bracketing at the state tournament is nearly identical to the district tournament. Acting events include solo and ensemble performances. These can be musical, humorous, serious, pantomime or solo performances.

On the technical side, students can compete in events such as scene design, costume design, makeup and prop creation.

Actors go through three rounds and each performance has its own specifications that a judge or judges will use to assign a final rank and score. The performers or performances are assigned a 1-4 rank, with 1 being best, and a score from 3 to 10, with 10 being a perfect score.

What’s different at the state tournament is these three rounds act as the preliminary stage, as the top 16 competitors advance to the semifinals. Following another round of judging, the top eight then make the cut for a final round of judging.

Overall team winners are chosen by the number of points earned when students advance to the various rounds.

Of the 20 students Coeur d'Alene Charter brought to state, 10 made it to the semifinals and nine made it to the finals, with one duo taking first place overall in an individual category.

Earning perfect 1-10 scores through every round, siblings Daisy and Nick Ohmes took first place overall in costume design for their piece, “Chainsaw Man.”

“Their piece was incredible,” Fleming said. “They worked a tremendous amount on it and they’re both very talented artists. It was pretty cool to watch them do that.”

Charter took first overall in the combined 1-3A Division with 15 points, defeating McCall-Donnelly and Snake River high schools, which scored six and five points, respectively.

“It’s always fun to see all the different kids from all over Idaho,” Fleming said. "I like that my students are able to see what different kids are doing and to get feedback from someone other than me.”

Coeur d'Alene High School theater teacher Jared Helm organized the event and was pleased with how the tournament went, even if a recent snowstorm threatened the entire thing.

“I feel like everybody really enjoyed coming to Coeur d’Alene," he said. "The weather caused a little bit of a disturbance.”

Taking second in the 5A Division, Coeur d’Alene High School saw its 10-year winning streak come to an end, but Helm noted like Fleming did that this tournament is a unique competition.

“This is such a subjective art form and I think it’s important for all of us to remember that and that art is perceived differently by different people,” Helm said. “At the end of the day, it’s about creating, making, doing and learning.”