Two Students And Teacher Awarded Nationally
Samm Sack
Co-Editor
Waverly students, staff and families rocked back in their seats in a fit of giggles as the two Waverly boys bantered on stage, cracking jokes back and forth during the comedic rendition of “The 39 Steps”.
Their serious sides have made the audience fidget in its seats, pondering the extent of humanity’s cruelty during “The Last Train”.
For the past three years, senior Dalton Polivka and junior Tucker Flodman have portrayed an array of both jovial and morose characters that have tugged on heart strings and triggered uproarious reactions.
Throughout the duration of the laughs and the tears, a friendship blossomed and grew between the actors which allowed them interact better on stage.
“My relationship with Dalton is great,” Flodman said. “We’re just buds.”
Those two friends, who have had each others’ backs for several plays now and have worked extremely hard to improve, are about to broaden their experience: they’re to perform for an audience larger than any local auditorium could hold.
They’re going National.
“It’s going to be awesome to go up against such a high competition, at a national level,” Floodman said.
His partner in crime was just as excited to get out on the big stage as his friend was.
“Actually being recognized on a national level brings a feeling that can’t be put into words,” Polivka said. “This is the greatest accomplishment that I have ever made in my life.”
It was their exceptional performance of “Minnesota Moon” that threw the boys into that dazzling spotlight. The announcement came Jan. 11 that they would represent Nebraska at the International Thespian Society’s National conference at the UNL campus June 23-28.
“It’s such a privilege to represent Nebraska at the conference,” Floodman said. “I’m completely honored.”
The play revolves around a simple plot: a significant distance was about to rip two close friends apart as one of them was leaving the next day to live it up in college, but the other was to get left behind. Floodman and Polivka were able to transform such a simple idea into a complex play with depth mostly due to the connection of the story line to their real life.
“The play fit us well,” Floodman said. “Next year Dalton is heading off to college, just like how it was in the play, but it’s not as drastic since he’s only going to just Lincoln.”
The director of “Minnesota Moon”, Patrick Lambrecht, was recognized for his work with a well-deserved honor; Lambrecht tied for Nebraska Thespian Teacher of the Year.
“Patrick is one of my favorite people in the world,” Polivka said. “I think he deserved that award because the school doesn’t really recognize him for his hard work, but he really is one of the hardest workers in the whole district.”
The dynamic duo, as well as their devoted mentor, are in for a week of apt honors and grand awards over the coming summer. For that week, their spotlight will no longer belong solely on the stage of the District 145 high school--it’ll be all over the country.
