After finishing in the top three at the district, bi-district and area competitions, the Cooper High School UIL One-Act Play troupe has earned the right to participate in the Region I-5A contest, which is scheduled for April 21 in the Allen Theatre on the Texas Tech University campus.

A final local performance of the play “Twelve Angry Jurors” will take place on Monday, April 18, at 6 p.m. in the Cooper High School auditorium. Admission is free, but donations will be welcome.

Based on the Emmy Award-winning television movie and adapted for the stage by Sherman L. Sergel, “Twelve Angry Jurors” is a play that contemplates the huge responsibility of 12 ordinary people as they consider the guilt or innocence of a young man accused of murder. The 12 jurors bring their own histories, prejudices, and biases to the jury room as they work through this life or death decision.

Cast members have been busy this year working on the Cooper Theatre program’s fall production (“Fools” by Neil Simon) and the musical “Something Rotten” earlier this spring. They are now just one step away from the state competition in One-Act Play.

“This cast has developed beautifully over the course of the year having been featured in our other productions,” Cooper theatre director Justin Radcliffe said. “Their success is based on the commitment of each actor to the ensemble. This piece can only succeed with a hard-working cast where all actors on stage are committed to the moments of the play.”

Joining Cooper in the Region I-5A competition will be Canyon Randall (“The Awakening of Spring”), Lubbock High (“The Unreturning”), North Richland Hills-Birdville (“By the Bog of the Cats”), Denton Ryan (“All My Sons”), and Grapevine (“The Old Man and the Old Moon”). Two shows out of each region will advance to the Class 5A state competition May 5-7 in Round Rock.

This is the second time in the last five years that Cooper has advanced to at least the area round performing “Twelve Angry Jurors.” In 2018, Cooper advanced to area with the same show but had to remove the team from the competition the day of the contest because of an early morning medical issue with one of the leads in the show.

Radcliffe brought the same production back this year because he believed he had the right mix of talent to be able to put together a top-notch show. He’s been proven right.

At the district competition, Roberto Rueda was named Best Performer and Lily Kovac was named to the All-Star Cast. In addition, Hallie Stone and Kamonie Ford were named to the honorable mention All-Star Cast. At the bi-district competition, Rueda was named to the All-Star Cast, Kovac and Stone were named to the honorable mention All-Star Cast, and Christina Sutton was named Outstanding Techie. And at the area competition, Rueda and Kovac were named to the All-Star Cast, Bryson Chociej was named to the honorable mention All-Star Cast, and Devonte Russell was named Outstanding Techie.

“Having seen the level of their work prior to this casting I felt confident that we had the acting chops to embody a work of this caliber,” Radcliffe said.

Abilene High’s One-Act Play finished high enough in district to advance to the bi-district show but did not make to the area round.