Iowa’s Thespian Festival started in the mid-1970s and has been hosted at the University of Northern Iowa for 13 years. The festival hosts over 30 schools from around Iowa. The festival hosts three high schools to perform their plays or musicals in front of those attending. Kennedy has been attending the festival on and off for 15 years and was selected to perform in 2023 for the festival’s opening day on Friday, Nov. 10.
The Anxiety Project cast will be attending together to perform their show discussing themes and topics that affect thousands of people every year.
“A show like this is really important because of how it can impact people, make people feel seen,” Kennedy Director Nick Hayes said. “The parts of their stories that data maybe can’t express out loud, get expressed out loud for them.”
The Anxiety Project was made by former Kennedy student and composer Rachel Dean and scriptwriter David Brush. The show’s stories are based on the real confessions of people who called in to share with the writers. It’s debuting in Iowa for the first time with the Kennedy High School Theatre Department.
The musical’s themes cover trauma, addiction and abuse and how they tie into mental illnesses like depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety. The show shares the characters’ struggles through the music.
The new stage and a fresh audience bring excitement to the cast as they share the show and its topics at the Thespian Festival.
“I’m really just trying to experience performing in a bigger audience,” lead actor Calen Cummins said. “I’ve never really performed a solo at a bigger stage which is terrifying but also really exciting.”
Interested parties can watch The Anxiety Project perform at the festival on Nov. 10 at the University of Iowa at 2 p.m. or listen to the soundtrack here!
