Early on Saturday, November 23, at 5:45 A.M., the Theater Guild of Galileo gathered in the school parking lot. They loaded up every prop and necessity into the bus, along with their things. Many students brought blankets, pillows, headphones, and their personal devices along in order to pass time during the over 3-hour drive to West Point, Virginia.
When they arrived, West Point students led the team to their classroom point for their group, where Galileo prepared to be first up during the competition. Introductions happened while the school was backstage, with a few Galileo parents accompanying the school to West Point to watch their students— most of them for the second time.
Once the other three plays commenced, with a break halfway for lunch given to the students, the judges made their decisions. As all the schools were called back to the auditorium, the first order of business was awards.
Galileo, unfortunately, did not advance to the States Competition. However, freshman Memphis Moore won an honorable mention as Outstanding Actor. Junior Piper Fairplay took home one trophy for Outstanding Actor.
The team was not discouraged about being unable to advance. As Fairplay had put it before, “as long as somebody gets up there [for an award]”, the team was satisfied with their results.