More than 200 high school students from the region converged on York College’s campus for the second annual Cultivate One-Act Festival, hosted on Saturday, November 4. Participating schools included Shickley, Hampton, Shelby-Rising City, Giltner, High Plains, and Bruning-Davenport.

These students will perform their one-act plays at competitions around the state throughout November. For now, the students are still polishing their programs through exhibition. The festival at York College gave them an opportunity to perform their show in front of seasoned dramatists, who provided feedback for improvement. 

The students performed their shows and watched other schools’ performances in a positive, growth environment with a receptive audience of their peers. 

It was also a chance for high school students to network with each other, with college students, and with industry professionals.

The festival took place in the Bartholomew Performing Arts Center, which opened in 2016. “This facility has allowed us to host these kinds of events and serve the community in a new way,” said John Baker. “We could not have hosted an event of this magnitude previously at York College due to space limitations. Thanks to the generosity of donors in our community and others, the new performing arts center is being used as a resource to enhance art and expression in our region.”

Though it was a non-competitive event, some awards were presented to the outstanding male and female performers, as well as to honorable mention individuals in each show. These students included:

Best Actor/Actress Overall
  • Jadon Pavel - Shelby-Rising City (pictured above)
  • Hannah Hettle - Hampton

Honorable Mentions
  • Kellen Reinsch -- Shickley
  • Lexi Kadel -- Shickley
  • Brooke Jorgenson -- Shickley
  • Jacey Klassen - Hampton
  • Treavar Pekar - Hampton
  • Alyssa Blohm - Shelby-Rising City
  • Oscar Ruvalcaba - Shelby-Rising City
  • rylee Branting - Shelby-Rising City
  • Julia Augustin - Shelby-Rising City
  • Jordan Roberts - Shelby-Rising City
  • Cecelia King - Shelby-Rising City
  • Camille Micek - Shelby-Rising City
  • Dayne Hinrichs - Guiltner
  • Reagan Janzen - Guiltner
  • Jessie Wemhoff - High Plains
  • Ian Anderson - High Plains
  • Kim Ardissono - Bruning-Davenport
  • Isaac Baysinger - Bruning-Davenport​