LOS ALAMITOS, CA — Los Alamitos High School Drama is inching its way toward reaching its goal of going to the National Thespian Festival, but due to financial complications, the Drama Department can only spend so much money. With an intimidating amount of $50,000 to raise, Los Al Drama needs the support of the Griffin community to make this dream happen.

“The department/school is hoping to send 24 students to the National Thespian Festival hosted by the Educational Theatre Association at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN this coming June,” said Los Al Drama’s GoFundMe site for the fundraiser. 

After being named champions at the California State Thespian Festival, Los Al Drama was automatically given a spot in the national competition. The Advanced Drama class submitted a one-take video of their award-winning play “#VIRAL” for the judges. At the National Thespian Festival in June, winners will be announced and other groups’ productions will be viewed; workshops and college auditions will also be at the event.

Mrs. Stacy Castiglione, the drama teacher, said that she found the script for “#VIRAL” at a previous year’s festival. After purchasing the rights to the play, Los Al Drama students only had a few weeks to pull off their final product before submitting it to the judges. Mrs. Castiglione explained that “#VIRAL” is a story about a bullying incident at school where the bullies post the event on social media. However, contrary to a typical bullying story, the production shows how the incident affects the oppressors, rather than the victim, later in life.

“We were all friends before, but being a part of a piece that has such an impact really brings people together,” said senior Grace DeJongh. “I’ve loved being a part of a piece that is so relevant to our society and seeing people’s reactions has been something really special.”

The last time that Los Al Advanced Drama made it to the nationals, as Mrs. Castiglione explains, there were only six students, compared to this year’s 24. Additionally, she did not expect Los Al to win the state-wide competition this year, just because of the numerous thespian groups from other schools.

“The kids in the program know that I hate money; I hate dealing with money [and] asking for money,” stated Mrs. Castiglione. “It makes me very uncomfortable.” She also acknowledged the fact that not all of her student’s families are in a comfortable financial situation to donate such a large amount of money for the trip, making the cost of $50,000 seem all the more intimidating.

Los Al Advanced Drama is doing all that they can to reach their fundraising goal. There is currently a GoFundMe site where the community can donate. On May 5, Los Al Drama had its last Improv Show of the year and gained a healthy total profit of $2400. On May 7, the department held a used clothing drive and was able to collect a total profit of $500. Additionally, the department has hosted multiple community dining nights over the weeks to raise more money. The $50,000, Mrs. Castiglione said, will cover the costs of transportation, hotel rooms, and other fees for the trip.

The Drama Department will have a final show of the year to help boost the fundraising. On Thursday, May 25, and Friday, May 26, Los Al Drama will present the play “A Wrinkle In Time”. Tickets will be $10 and can be purchased online only at the Los Al Drama website. There will be shows at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on both days. All proceeds from the shows will go to the funding for the trip. Additionally, community members can also donate money directly to Los Al Drama’s Venmo account.

To help spread the word, Los Al Drama has been featured on ABC7 Eyewitness News and had a live segment on television.

“It’s very expensive but it’d be amazing for us to go because it would be an amazing opportunity and I think the money will be well spent,” said freshman Evan Ashwynpagan in the broadcasting.

Los Alamitos High School’s Drama Department has put in weeks of blood, sweat, and tears into one grand finale for this season, but it requires a little extra push from fellow Griffins and the community to achieve this goal. Best of luck, theater students!