Wheeling Park High School Theater Director Katie Redd, left, introduces to Ohio County Board of Education members some of the students who attended the West Virginia Theatre Festival last month at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon. Pictured from left are Redd, students Matt Cox, Mo Smith and Wilkie Pavilack, and assistant theater director Julie Schultz.

Ed. Note: This story has been revised to correct the names of Russ Schultz and Sydney Wilson.

WHEELING — Wheeling Park High School theater arts students learned and excelled during a recent statewide arts festival, and Ohio County Board of Education recognized them this week for their successes.

Katie Redd, theater director at WPHS, and associate theater directors Julie Schultz and Michael Romick led a group of theater students to the West Virginia Theatre Festival, which took place Nov. 14-16 at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon. Some auditioned for a chance at a college scholarship at the festival, while senior Mo Smith won two “Distinguished Awards” for prop and costume design.

Redd — who also happens to be Smith’s mother — updated board of education members on the trip.

“We attended workshops and classes. We went to auditioning classes, stage and makeup and film classes and a class in performing Shakespeare,” she said. “But our favorite was clown school. We learned a lot.”

Classes were presented by professors from Marshall University, West Virginia University and Shepherd University, as well as the Rustic Mechanicals theatre company.

Students and professors from West Liberty University also participated in some of the workshops, according to Redd.

“We learned a ton and also had a ton of fun,” she said. “But not only did we go there to learn, we went there to compete.”

There were eight high schools at the competition, as well as two community theatre groups. This included over 40 students competing in the monologue competitions.

Four top awards were presented with Smith and Grace Mull receiving honorable mention for their monologue presentations.

But it was in the props competition where Smith excelled. She created a free-standing cow marionette that won a “Distinguished Award” for prop design, and her take on Cinderella’s gown brought her a second “Distinguished Award” for costume design.

“I was in the room at the time … and Mo went first,” Schultz said. “She set the bar so high on both presentations that nobody was going to touch her as far as presentation.

“You could see there was so much time and effort involved. If you would have walked through the halls at the high school, you would have seen her working on this in her higher level art classes in Mr. (Russ) Schultz’s art classes. It is just so amazing what they have been able to come up with.”

In addition, there were four WPHS students who participated in unified auditions in front of a panel of college professors with hopes of winning a scholarship. Those students included Mull, Sydney Wilson, Wilkie Pavilack and McKenzie Watson.

“They are now awaiting scholarship offers, and in the next few weeks we could be hearing back,” Schultz said.

The WPHS theatre arts club will host its end of the semester “Class Act” event at 6 p.m. Dec. 19 at the school, and the public will get the chance then to see the young actors in action, she added.

The theatre arts club students also will participate in the Southeastern Theatre Conference beginning March 19 in Baltimore.