Dunbar Theatre students received the highest score in their eight years of competition on the way to a Gold rating during the 2012 Virginia Theatre Association Young People's Theatre Festival in November.
Ten schools from across the Commonwealth performed one-act plays in front of highly-qualified judges during this middle school competition hosted by Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School for Innovation.
Dunbar and nine other schools performed a variety of dramas, comedies and musicals. All but two schools received Gold ratings.
Dunbar’s show, Disney’s "Mulan, Jr.," was one of two musicals. One of the judges called it the best musical that he has ever seen a middle school do.
The festival scoring is designed to give three levels of ratings to the competing schools: Gold, Silver and Bronze. Bonus points were awarded for costumes, set/props, lights/sound and crew. Dunbar earned all Gold ratings, including one above-perfect score.
Dunbar’s Katie Morse, who played Mulan, and Spencer Cohen, who played an ancestor named Zhang, each received a medal for acting honors.