Annual Skits entertains crowd while recognizing Class of 2023 superlatives

It’s a crucial moment of a Bearden football game, and a Bearden defender makes a great play.

The ref doesn’t see it that way, though, and out comes a flag.

The Bearden student section immediately begins to chant derisively at the officials. Mrs. Sayers does not approve and joins the students in the stands. She shouts her school-appropriate chants about dress code and urges the student section to compete in a half time race. 

Once she is satisfied with the state of the student section, she makes her way back to the sidelines where a football player tackles her, causing a wig to fly off her head.

“And Most School Spirit goes to…”

It’s through comedic skits like the one described above that Bearden theatre students announce senior superlatives. Every year, Mrs. Lauren Andrejko and Ms. Katie Alley’s Theatre I and Theatre II classes produce a night of skits showcasing the spirit of each senior superlative. 

“It’s always challenging when a majority of the students in the skits are freshmen and have never seen annual skits before,” Ms. Alley said. “It’s so early in the semester for them to take on the challenge of writing and performing in their own skits.

“I have some really strong writers and leaders and some great creative thinkers and some kids with really high work ethic.”

The Most School Spirit skit performed by Mrs. Andrejko’s class was based on a recent scenario involving the Bearden student section. However, this skit of course included additional exaggeration added for the amusement of the audience.

The most common challenges of successfully performing the skit are remembering lines and staying focused despite the lack of theatrical experience. 

“I was super nervous, but it was better because you had a whole group around you doing it,” said freshman Stella Cross, who was a performer in the football skit. “My favorite part was right after we did it because we were so proud of ourselves because we could actually pull it off.” 

The skit for Best Looking also caught the attention of the audience. During the skit, the main character is seen scrolling through a dating app on a laughably large phone in an attempt to find his perfect match. 

After matching with a beautiful girl, the main character decides to plan a date with her. As he is eagerly anticipating her arrival, a huge man walks in wearing a dress and it turns out that is the “beautiful girl” he matched with. As if this situation couldn’t get any worse, the waiter actually has a romantic relationship with the catfish.

“It was fun to collaborate with everybody,” said freshman Taylor Haun, who was a performer in the dating app skit. “I was one of our writers, and I do video stuff on the side so it was just like any other script writing thing that I’ve done.

“It’s just kinda fun to be in that group and think about who can say this line best. What would really sound legit?”

Annual skits wouldn’t be complete without the role of two narrators; this year, they were two Theatre II students (Luke Anderson and Braden Galli) portraying old men.

Anderson claimed that the hardest part of playing this role was fully articulating the script in his old man voice, but other than that, his previous experience in Headliners prevented him from being nervous. 

“I would say [my favorite part of performing was] lighting the crowd with small jokes and insults,” Anderson said. “I would say my favorite part was our last line; exiting the stage with an ‘elevator.’”

Complete list of Senior Superlatives:

Most Athletic: Brinley Murphy and Lucas Nordin
Most Creative: Perry Crawford and Dylan Murphy
Most Talented: Izzy Fenech and Tanner Burke
Most Intellectual: Josie Galehouse and Nathan Brusseau
Best Looking: McLayne Riggins and Andy Benson
Best Dressed: Alyssa Ella and Kas Reeves
Most Likely to Succeed: Naomi Winn and Bryan Utomo
Most School Spirit: Meghan Oros and Cayden Douglas
Wittiest: Jerziah Hurst and Noah & Nelson Karnowski
Friendliest: Anna Lynn Harms and Jackson Schriver
Most School Service: Mia Stopka and Jackson Schriver
Best All Around: Meghan Oros and Josiah Yeow