This weekend, CHS’s fringe show, “Girls Like That,” competed at the Indiana State Thespian Conference and received an award for “Best Ensemble” along with the first place award. Competing against 11 other shows from all over the state, “Girls Like That” received the most points from a professional panel of judges, which was certainly warranted. “Girls Like That” is one of the most unique, poignant and powerful shows I have ever seen. This show tells the extremely timely story of a girl named Scarlett whose naked photo gets leaked on the internet and goes viral. The bullying and shaming she is put through show a powerful message about friendship, loyalty and modern technology.

One thing that made this show stand out so much was its simplistic set, which was made up of one chair and a set of headphones for each of the six girls (not including Scarlett) and a smartphone for each girl as well. This show was true black box theatre at its finest. Nothing was made overly complex, but it was extremely minimalistic, which allowed for flawless, fast scene changes and let the audience use their imagination more. If the set had been done any other way, the show wouldn’t have quite had the same impact as it did this way, because allowing the audience to imagine the setting more made audience members more immersed and involved in the show.

However, the main thing that set this show apart was how well the cast worked together. Clearly all of the girls on stage had spent hours upon hours rehearsing this show to get every last moment as close to perfection as is humanly possible. This show is truly an ensemble show, containing only one named character (Scarlett), so if there is one weak link in the cast, it really shows. However, this show had no weak link to be found. Each of the girls gave an equally beautiful, moving performance and clearly shared a strong bond in their offstage lives.

Overall, “Girls Like That” is an incredible show with a powerful message that needs to be spread. The show deserved every bit of recognition it earned this past weekend and more.