Richards wins state championship in Contest Play

The Contest Play of “Macbeth” from Richards High School won first place on Saturday at the Illinois High School Association competitive drama state finals. After years of finishing among the top productions, Richards won its first state crown in the category.

Mike Badger, Jon Nebor, Lauren Davis, Claudia Baranowski, and Rick Keeley served as the directors. Cast members include Mary Gacek, Stella Chinchilla, Reya Graham, Ariyana Hall, Kate Fraider, Annie Sheahan, and Shaquoia Mitchell.

Joe Fraider, Damian Rzeszutek, and Julia Stalzer served as the lighting crew, while Jaylen Johnson directed sound.

The huge technical crew included Abeer Obadi, Abby Martinek, Anayeli Ruiz, Audrey Davey, Christina Graham, Dominic Kubik, Eileen Mora, Hajar El Azizi, Halle Bradbury, Jaylen Johnson, Joe Fraider, Julia Stalzer, Leila Guerrero, Lexi Nieminski, Lina Shuibat, Maya Camarena, Natalia Skobel, Paola Vazquez, Quezatli Melendez, Sophia Bartony, Stazie Thoma, Tori Lia, Yasmen Abughoush, Maggie Ritter, Zoe Ziolkowski, Damian Rzeszutek, Sereen Natour, Kathlyn Vo, Rachel Snyder, Mariah Stevens, Emily Cook, Ryne Luna, Ted Taylor, Shawn Mallo, Marel Doon, Magdalena Macias, and Christian Diaz.

“Macbeth” captured top honors at all competitions this spring.

The production won Best of the Fest at the South Suburban Conference Drama Festival. The Richards group also won the IHSA Sectional championship to qualify for the state finals.