When one thinks of competitive upsets, the triumphs of athletic underdogs usually come to mind. However, such is not always the case. The latest campus upset actually took place in theater sports.

Surrounded by giant high schools, like Clovis West and Roosevelt, the campus drama team pulled off an exciting victory.

The team brought a single-act, 20-minute play to the 26th annual Fresno City College Valley Invitational Theatre festival on April 6. For the first time, the campus drama team received awards in this citywide competition, winning second place overall.

?The judges were very impressed with our team,? Tom McEntee, drama teacher, said. ?They liked how well our actors handled the difficult language of the play we performed.?

Chris White, ?05, and Jason Harris, ?07, also earned individual awards for their performances in Oscar Wilde?s The Importance of Being Ernest.

The drama team entered some of its members into the solo monologue competition, but their main performance of the day was Oscar Wilde?s 19th century play.

Setbacks, like time violations and other minor infractions, cost some of the monologue competitors possible awards.

?The judges gave me a lot of positive feedback on my presentation,? Brianna Stobbe, ?06, said. ?My fault was in exceeding the time limit. So, I?ve learned to time my monologue beforehand so I don?t run into the same problem again. ?

McEntee was pleased overall with the competition results. For the first time in school history, the drama department won some major awards.

?To see my students approach a piece by Oscar Wilde, one of the most noted playwrights in history, with the confidence that these young actors displayed was a joy and an amazement to me,? McEntee said. ?And to send Chris White, who is a senior, off like that was awesome.?

Some were surprised at the lengths other schools would go to in order to receive a few extra points.

?We thought that the piece Roosevelt performed was quite perverse,? McEntee said. ?It was very over the top, and even the audience was pretty grossed out at times.?

Roosevelt?s piece was based on a sexually confused youth seeking his identity.

In four years of teaching drama, this is McEntee?s first time leading a group to competitive success.

?After four years, there is a first time for everything,? McEntee said. ?And I hope it is not the last.?

More than anything, McEntee valued the learning his group received at the competition.

?We received a lot of great feedback,? McEntee said. ?We performed very well and were able to learn from all the ways we did not.?

For more information on the drama department, contact McEntee at [email protected].