Every year, students participate in a competition known as the Odyssey of the Mind, which is designed to help students apply their creativity while presenting their own interpretations of “literary classics.”
Each of the four teams going to competition this year had been assigned a science-based problem and have to put together a skit in order to act out the solution to their problem.

“It’s a fantastic experience for everyone. You are given a problem, in unconventional ways, and then you are expected to solve that problem, which isn’t exactly the easiest,” Tim Domack, technical theatre teacher said.

One of the problems that was taken to competition was problem five entitled, “Seeing is Believing.” This team was to create and present an original performance about a community that feels threatened by something in a location it has never visited.

In order to go to competition fully prepared, the team must construct a script and props.

“We’ve been working on props and scripts as much as we can and practicing in order for everything to be in place before we go to competition,” senior Shayne Heinkel said.

After regionals in Chapel Hill, teams one, two, and five advanced to state competition at Wingate University.

“When you’re working at school, it can be very stressful, but when you go off to competition and advance, it’s a very rewarding feeling to see all your hard work pay off,” Heinkel said.

Along with problem five, problem one advanced to the state competition with a first place finish at regionals.

“It was really exciting to advance to states. We went through a lot of difficulties before we performed, but we really came together as a team and pulled out a victory,” junior Kathleen Cook said.

Although team three did not advance to states, they did place first in spontaneous critical thinking and problem-solving along with the other three teams.

“This was my first year doing OM, it’s been rough, but it was a rewarding experience in the end. I got to use my creativity to make my own set and music. It’s awesome,” senior Harry Hawk said.

The State competition will be held April 5 in Charlotte.

“We have a lot to do in order to be ready to compete in a few weeks, but I think we’re ready for the challenge,” Cook said. “It would be fantastic to be able to advance to worlds, but we have already accomplished a great deal and I am extremely proud of our work.”

After the first round of competition, all four teams were praised for their behavior, and their professionalism was said to be exemplary.

Marie Jones, drama teacher, said in an email to the teachers, “Please forgive our boundless enthusiasm and shameless bragging, but we like to shout it from the rooftops when our students do good things.”