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The student-run news site of Lawrence Free State High School

Free Press Online

The student-run news site of Lawrence Free State High School

Free Press Online

The student-run news site of Lawrence Free State High School

Free Press Online

MULTIMEDIA: Meet the Cast of Footloose

Owen Gerrish, Quinton Hice, and Harper Finck November 5, 2024

Graphic Design by Harper Finck

Singing Let it Go to the crowd, Free State alumnus Elizabeth Heinz performs as Elsa in the Penguin Project’s production of Frozen Jr.

FEATURE: Penguin Project Performs Frozen Jr.

Jonah Frye, Reporter August 27, 2024

The Penguin Project started five years ago in Lawrence and is a part of over 50 chapters nationwide. The project aims to allow neurodiverse kids to participate in theatre and express themselves within...

Senior Lily Otter smiles while performing on stage at an improvisation show. Otter and her fellow teammates prepared for the festival by using their shows in the black box theatre as a learning experience

NEWS: Kansas Thespian Festival

Lilly Wall January 19, 2023

The competitive improvisation [improv] team traveled to Wichita and took first place at the Kansas Thespian Festival Jan. 5-7. Additionally, the theatre department extended their success, receiving a Gold...

Senior Julie Ruddy flips her hair enthusiastically while acting in a scene. Ruddy performed as Evil Tina in the 2021-2022 school year spring production of She Kills Monsters. "Being a villain takes more effort because you have to empathize with them as a character and truly believe you are justified in being an awful person," Ruddy said.

FEATURE: Student Actors Manage Careers

Becky Coston December 12, 2022

Jasmine Clock   Movie stars walking around a high school in Kansas seems like something out of a dream, but it isn’t so far from the truth. With a passion for acting, some students are on the path...

Theater teacher Ms. Waller is new to Free State this year. She led her class with enthusiasm.

New Theater Teacher Debuts

DeeDee Zolman, Reporter October 6, 2017

Ericka Waller, the new theater teacher, is now in her tenth year of teaching. Waller knew she wanted to teach after connecting with her theater teacher in high school. “He inspired me, so I went on...

Possible Repurposing of Black Box

Possible Repurposing of Black Box

Jackson Barton, Online Editor-in-Chief May 6, 2016

During a faculty meeting on April 7, the administration announced plans to repurpose the Black Box into a flexible space during school hours. Currently, the Black Box serves as theater classroom and English...

Performing “One for the Record Books,” an original play by senior Nat Hoopes, junior Ryan Leibold, sophomore Chris Pendry and sophomore Orson Becker participate in 2015’s Black Box Theater Festival.

Students write plays for Black Box Theater Festival

Juna Murao April 6, 2016

Experiencing writer's block, directing a show and casting his peers have been some of sophomore Christopher Pendry’s first steps as one of the playwrights for this year’s Black Box Theater Festival...

Editors discuss what changed their lives

Editors discuss what changed their lives

Sydney Gard and Trenna Soderling March 13, 2016

Sydney Gard Scoliosis has been a huge part of who I am for a long time. In middle school, I wore a painful, tight plastic back brace. It was supposed to stop my back from getting worse while...

Sophomore Josh Eisenhauer plays a teen addicted to his phone in the comedy "Dependence."

Black Box Theater Festival directors scrutinize scripts

kyra haas, editor-in-chief April 24, 2014

On a Wednesday afternoon, junior B. Adams sits atop a desk in Room 152, watching her cast read through their half-memorized script. At sporadic intervals, she descends from her perch and moves around the...

Senior Madeline Chestnut balances an apple on her head during "The Pajama Game." Chestnut played the role of Babe Williams, the head of the Grievance Committee.

“The Pajama Game” review

ryan liston, co-online editor in chief December 5, 2013

As the lights dimmed in the auditorium, I thought, “This will probably be a cheesy play all about pajamas.” I soon found out that I was dead wrong. “The Pajama Game” was much more than a simple...

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