In 1998, pagers were the norm, Google was just starting out, and there was nothing called “Facebook.”

Flash forward fifteen years where every question can be answered on the internet, and every thought is either “tweeted” or “texted.”

A lot can happen in fifteen years.

And here at WS, our Theatre department has captured the VHSL State Championship for the first time since 1998 for their production of “The Other Room.”

“The Other Room” was performed in the Winter One Acts and for those of you who haven’t seen it, it is about Austin, a boy with autism (played by sophomore Will Shipley), who tries to overcome the voices in his head when an amiable girl, Lily (played by sophomore Bonnie McClellan), tries to befriend him.

“I saw it at the Kennedy Center in 2008 and the subject matter interests me cause I have a son who has Asperger’s syndrome,” said Theatre teacher, Bernie DeLeo. “I thought it was a good portrayal of [a] teenager dealing with autism.”

This insight allowed the cast to put on an impeccable performance at each stage of the competition from Districts to Regionals and to inevitably win it all at States. Though there were some modifications made to the show before advancing onward.

“The judges gave us really good notes at the district showing,” said DeLeo. “We moved the jail bars down so you could see the faces, [and we] brought characters outside of the prison. The Lake Braddock kids told us it was so effective.”

The changes were clearly successful, but in addition, the message of the act is what was most instrumental to their win. With a theme of anti-bullying at the very heart of the show, it drew the audience in.

“It was such a heavy-impacting show that the judges could connect with it,” said Shipley.

In addition to this state win, Shipley and McClellan were recognized as two of eight fellow student actors as “Outstanding Performers.”

“Winning ‘Outstanding Performer’ was a nice bonus but the fact that we won state champs was better because it was the whole cast,” said Shipley.

For the competition, the cast traveled to Piedmont Community College in Charlottesville, VA on Friday, March 1 after school and competed against acts across the state on Saturday, March 2. Though their trip was short, the cast still enjoyed spending the night, eating dinner with one another and most of all, competing.

“I enjoyed the camaraderie between all the different schools,” said head tech, senior Conor Terry. “Everyone got along with everyone else, it really eased the tension of being in a competition.”

When the competition was all said and done for, the cast came home and will be putting on another showing of “The Other Room” on Monday, April 8 in the auditorium at 6:45.

“The final performance for the people who missed it to see it,” said DeLeo.