Awards and Honors

Arizona State Thespian Festival 2026

In January, members of our Thespian Troupe #1374 traveled to the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona, to participate in the 2026 Arizona Thespian Festival. Over 2,000 theatre students from across the state attended the festival, where they attended workshops, watched performances from other high schools, competed in the BACKstage Tech Challenge, and more. Several of our students were granted admission into the Open Jar Institute's summer program and CFHS was awarded as a State Thespian Honor Troupe! Congratulations to all of our students who attended and to our tech teams for their hard-earned competition scores. 

Norm Testa: Back in Black!

In a recent article, CFSD Director of Alumni and Community Relations Julie Farbarik wrote about the return of Norm Testa to the Falcon Theatre. Testa began at the the high school in the 1990s after an extensive career in arts and entertainment. After four years of retirement, Testa is back in black! Our students are incredibly lucky to have Testa serving as our technical director and shop foreman. His expertise and teaching abilities have produced countless industry professionals, and will continue to do so. Welcome home, Testa!

“I don’t need every student to work in theatre. I want them to walk into any problem—in a lab, a courtroom, a workplace—and say, ‘Okay. Let’s solve it.’”

Read the full article here

2025 Southern Arizona Festival of Theatre

On November 22nd, students from CFHS traveled to the Southern Arizona Festival of Theatre, hosted at the University of Arizona. The Backstage Badgers tech team, Calista Morrison ('26), Milo Peters ('27), Zoe Sheffield ('27), and Layla Fraser ('26), earned 1st place in cable coiling. The Flyline Falcons team, Nate Wiley ('27), Amelia Manchester ('27), Charley Bergthold ('27), and Veronica Bavier ('26), earned 2nd place in cable coiling, 3rd place in light hang and focus, and 3rd place overall in the technical challenge. 

Our actors were provided with feedback and ratings from industry professionals from across Southern Arizona, with nine students being awarded the highest possible rating, a superior. Nate Wiley ('27) and Ivy Buffalo ('27) were awarded superiors for musical theatre performance, Quincy White ('27) and Lilly Porter ('27) were honored with a superior for their duo scene performance, and Owen Cantor-Goldner ('26) and Lilly Porter ('27) received superiors for their solo monologue performances. For technical theatre, Calista Morrison ('26) was awarded a superior for stage management portfolio and Charley Bergthold ('27) received a superior for her costume design and presentation. Owen Cantor-Goldner ('26) was also given a superior for his short film submission.

Other students who performed wonderfully at the event included Azailea Peterson ('27), Kellen Tanner ('27), Rowan Sandeen ('27), Amelia Manchester ('27), Alex Cramton ('26), and Gemma Ricker ('27).

Our theatre was represented extremely well and our students wowed the judges!

2025 Live Theatre Workshop Tech Challenge

Several advanced and intermediate technical theatre students attended Live Theatre Workshop's annual tech challenge and skills training. This workshop and mock competition prepares our students for future technical theatre competitions at the regional and state level. Events included costume quick change, knot tying, hanging and focusing light, cable coiling, and more! Our students placed well in multiple categories, and our very own technical director, Mr. Testa, served as a mentor for students from across Tucson.

The 2025 Monte Awards

Wesley Geary ('25), Kiera Kuehnle ('25), and Nate Wiley ('27) each received recognition as finalists at the 2025 Monte Awards, performed at Arts Express Theatre in May! They were each nominated for their performances in the Falcon Theatre's Mary Poppins. As finalists, they competed for the opportunity to travel to New York City for the Jimmy Awards. And to top it all off, Wesley was awarded the Spirit Award!

2025 Arizona State Seal of Arts Recipients

Of the Falcon Theatre Class of 2025, five seniors were named CFSD STARS for receiving the Arizona State Seal of Arts for their four years of work in the theatre department. The seniors were Vivianna Colson, Saki Grobe, Haleigh Hinkle, Katie Pawloski, and Zachary Pittner, as well as Bryan Zhang for music.

Double Time: An Original Musical

Starting in the fall of 2024, Zachary Pittner, Katie Pawloski, Fox Foster, and Bryan Zhang began working on Double Time: An Original Musical, their Seal of Arts and senior capstone project. The team worked to finalize the script early in second semester, and rehearsals began under the direction of Kiera Kuehnle. The cast rehearsed for months leading up to the show's tech week, and Kiera, Zachary, Katie, Fox, and Bryan all worked tirelessly until the show's opening night. Along with an incredibly successful run of the show, the show gained attention from media outlets like KGUN9 and Theatre Arts Tucson. The production, while a huge success for the cast, crew, writing team, and the director, also served as an inspiration for many theatre students at CFHS, and was a tremendous accomplishment for the Falcon Theatre!

2025 Southern Arizona Festival of Theatre (SAFT)

In January of 2025, nine Falcons participated in the regional festival of theatre! The CFHS tech teams showcased their skills, earning them Second Place in Sewing Machine Threading and Second Place in Knot Tying. Saki Grobe ('25) was graded a superior for their Stage Management Portfolio, Vivianna Colson ('25) was awarded a Superior for her Musical Theatre Dance Performance, Jade Leon ('26) recieved a Superior for her Musical Theatre Solo Vocal Performance, and Calista Morrison ('26) was given an Excellent for her Musical Theatre Solo Vocal Performance. The tech teams were composed of Saki Grobe ('25), Veronica Davis-Soto ('25), Calista Morrison ('26), Robin Oxnam ('25), Elise McFarlane ('25), Cameron Smith ('25), and Aidan Bryant ('26). The Falcon Theatre was represented well!

Arizona State Thespian Festival 2024

In November of 2024, Saki Grobe ('25) was awarded the prestigious Technical Theatre Scholarship by the Arizona Thespians for their stage management presentation at the state thespian festival! CFHS brought their entire Advanced class to the festival to attend workshops, watch performances from other high schools, and much more.

The 2024 Jimmy Awards

In June 2024, Lance Jacobson ('24) got the opportunity to perform at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, The Jimmy Awards. The award program is made up of the top 110 musical theatre students in the nation, all given the opportunity to compete for scholarships and national recognition. Lance performed on a Broadway stage at the Minskoff Theatre to an adoring audience. He was selected as a semi-finalist, one of the top thirty students in the showcase, and performed as Edward Bloom from Big Fish the Musical at Catalina Foothills High School!

The 2024 Monte Awards

The 2024 Monte Awards were hosted at Arts Express Theatre in May! Lance Jacobson ('24), Kiera Kuehnle ('25), and Jaden Peterson ('24) were all nominees. Lance and Kiera were selected as finalists, and Jaden was in the top ten. Nate Wiley ('27) served as the student reporter and co-host of the event. Lance won and was selected to travel to New York City to participate in the Jimmy Awards!

2024 Arizona State Seal of Arts Recipients

From the Falcon Theatre Class of 2024, the following students were awarded CFSD STAR Awards as well as the Arizona State Seal of Arts for their dedication to the theatre program over their four years at CFHS. The students included Jaden Peterson, Allison Hoyt, Amy Cao, Dallas McMahan, Sophia Polyakova, and Dale Nelson. Congratulations to all of our Falcon STARS!

39th Annual National Shakespeare Competition - Tucson Branch

Louisa Stine ('26) and Owen Cantor-Goldner ('26) won the CFHS Shakespeare Competition and earned the opportunity to compete at the regional competition at the University of Arizona! They both dazzled their audience with their performances.

2024 Southern Arizona Festival of Theatre (SAFT)

We took home 14 Superiors and 1 Excellent in Acting and Musical Theatre Performance categories, 1 Superior in Short Film, 1 Excellent in Playwriting, and 1 Excellent in Scenic Design. In the tech challenges, we received: 1st place in Cable Coiling, 2nd place in Knot Tying, and 1st Place Overall.

Our actors included Keyanee Walls ('24), Vince Clark ('24), Sofia Galina-Garcia ('24), Miranndah Rivera ('24), Charlotte Henderson ('25), Haleigh Hinkle ('25), Robin Oxnam ('25), Jameson Westenskow ('24), Elise McFarlane ('25), Sixx Elliott ('24), Vivianna Colson ('25), Wesley Geary ('25), Jaden Peterson ('24), Lance Jacobson ('24), and Kiera Kuehnle ('25). 

Our team of technicians was comprised of Jameson Westenskow ('24), Robin Oxnam ('25), Elise McFarlane ('25), Vince Clark ('24), Saki Grobe ('25), Jasper Rolfe ('24), Sixx Elliott ('24), Dorian Andrews ('24).

2023 Arizona Thespian Festival

Advanced Theatre students competed in the Arizona State Thespian Festival at the Phoenix Convention Center on November 10 and 11, 2023. CFHS was represented in the tech challenge by two teams, won 2nd place in Quickest Costume Change! All of our students participated in workshops, attended one act plays, and saw two mainstage productions. Our tech teams, the Backstage Badgers and the Backstage Honey Badgers, both competed. The teams were as follows:

Backstage Honey Badgers: Allison Hoyt ('24), Vivianna Colson ('25), Amy Cao ('24), and Sophia Polyakova ('24)

Backstage Badgers: Sixx Eilliott ('24), Dorian Andrews ('24), Robin Oxnam ('25), and Saki Grobe ('25)

The 2023 Monte Awards

For their performances in Urinetown: The Musical, Lance Jacobson ('24), Vivianna Colson ('25), and Kiera Kuehnle ('25) were selected to compete at the 2023 Monte Awards at Arts Express Theatre on Sunday, May 14th. Kiera and Lance were honored as finalists and Kiera was honored with The Best Up-And-Coming Actress award!

2023 ESU National Shakespeare Competition

Fourty-one students were selected to participate in the English Speaking Union's National Shakespeare Competition, and CFHS's Kiera Kuehnle ('25) was one of them! Kiera's performance earned her a place in the top ten high school Shakespeare performers in the nation. Kiera performed her monologue at the Lincoln Center in New York on April 24th, 2023.

38th Annual National Shakespeare Competition - Tucson Branch

Wesley Geary ('25) and Kiera Kuehnle ('25) won the CFHS Shakespeare Competition and competed at the University of Arizona to attend the National Shakespeare Competition in New York City. Kiera was awarded second place and given the opportunity to perform in New York at the Lincoln Center!