By Rinna Waddhany

| The Salt Lake Tribune

Hillcrest High’s theater department was invited to perform at the Utah Theater Association Conference last year. Unfortunately, the group’s act included a 9-foot waterfall and pool — neither of which was easy to move — leading the young thespians to decline.

This year, the troupe gladly accepted an invitation to the annual gathering. This time, the group didn’t need a waterfall. Students simply brought a reputation burnished by top honors at the annual Shakespeare Competition.

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"They’re incredibly talented individuals," Hillcrest High Principal Susan Malone said. "They have phenomenal shows."

The Shakespeare Competition last October drew more than 3,000 students from 110 schools to Utah’s Dixie to compete at Southern Utah University. After three days of competition involving students from six states, Hillcrest High came out the victor, garnering first-place honors in the overall sweepstakes and ensemble scene categories.

"It’s one of the greatest, most educational, inspiring activities that we do," said Joshua Long, a drama teacher. "The kids soaked it up. They just loved it."

This was the second year in a row that Hillcrest won the ultimate sweepstakes prize and the fifth straight year the school dominated the ensemble category. Five students came away with scholarships worth $1,000 apiece for their roles in scenes and monologues.

"They pretty much swept everything," Long said. "It was really cool to see them reach their potential."

Branded by that competition and others, the Hillcrest High theater department traveled to Provo in late January for the Utah Theater Association Conference. Although the school took 70 students to the conference, Long was allowed to pick only eight seniors to audition for potential scholarships.

"They auditioned and did well," Long said. "A couple of the kids got cash awards. We wait to hear from the colleges in the next month or so."

Bradley Mackay, a senior, auditioned using a one-minute monologue and one-minute song.

"It’s a great opportunity for students to get recognized," Mackay said. "You can audition for all of the colleges and [you] may get an unexpected offer."

Initially a wrestling enthusiast, Mackay has been involved in theater since he started high school. He is now the president of the theater department.

Fellow Hillcrest High senior and thespian Krista Spainhower submitted a play for judging at the conference. She described the play as a social commentary, based on something she witnessed downtown. Although she didn’t win, Spainhower hopes to get her work published in the future.

"As a theater student, you can step inside someone else’s life and learn from them," she said.

This year, the department attempted something it hasn’t done before. It performed an original piece for conferencegoers titled "Moments."

"It has completely been devised by myself and the students," Long said. "There are scripted and unscripted moments that weave in and out of each other."

Long said the students have kept journals throughout the school year. In them, those students have jotted down significant moments and memories. Long selected passages from those journals to incorporate into the performance, then blended them with scenes and musical numbers by famous playwrights and composers such as Stephen Sondheim and William Shakespeare.