Way to go, Tigers!

The Problem: Teams are to create and present a humorous performance about an original tall tale, which will include a hero or heroine who completes an incredible feat. Teams must also include a unique explanation of how things began or came to be and a surprise for the audience. Events in the skit must be accompanied by a visual weather effect that represents an emotion.

Frostwood Elementary, 4^th Place

Synopsis of the team’s solution to Problem 5: The team performance tells the story of how gemstones came to be, incorporating emotional weather events that turn into real-life characters. A short mob-style dance break surprises the audience and adds humor to the performance.

Team Members and their roles in the performance (all fifth graders):
Chelsea Robinson: Ruby, a little girl who performs the tall tale super-human feat of turning rocks into gemstones through singing and dancing and getting all her friends to work together. Chelsea was great for this role because she has a positive and happy spirit.

Andrew Freeman: Miserable Dust Storm was our antagonist of the story, bringing misery, dust and draught to our fictional land. Andrew was great for this role because he loves the stage and loves to play larger than life characters. 

Paige Pennington - Grandma Ruby’s granddaughter and narrator - Paige was great for this role because she has a very calm but upbeat personality, so she was perfect for setting the stage for each scene and taking the audience through the story.

John Fuselier - Hillbilly 1, a friend of Ruby’s who helps her bring song and dance to the show. John was great for this role because he loves to perform and has a great voice. He wrote the original song for the show and led the dance number. 

Jaxon Nall: Hillbilly 2 and the Sun, another friend of character Ruby who helps bring song and dance to the show so Ruby can perform her magical feat. Jaxon was great for this role because of his optimistic attitude. 

Hollis Angel: Sad Raincloud and backstage help - Hollis was great for this role because of his humor. He was the funniest sad rain cloud ever! His backstage help made the show run smoothly, too.

Henry Peterson: Magical Rain and backstage help. He was also the piano player helping the actors keep the beat to the original song. 

A moment when they had to improvise during the regional contest: “We had less space than we expected, which made our performance more challenging than we had planned,” said Hollis. “Even so, the team adapted well, and everything ended up going really smoothly.”

What have you learned being part of an OM team? “I would definitely say it is a great experience to meet new people and to expand creativity beyond your imagination,” said Andrew.

Several members of this team have older siblings who are on award-winning SBISD Odyssey of the Mind teams. “This team has grown up watching those siblings, learning from their experiences, and embracing everything OM has to offer while still having fun with it,” said coach Jennifer Angel. “They truly have the potential to be a world-level team.”