Being part of theater productions has been some of the most meaningful experiences I’ve had throughout my high school journey.

This year, I had the opportunity to be involved in the production La Casa de Bernarda Alba, a play that takes both physical and emotional strength to get into character.

Through this experience I’ve grown as a person, teamwork, and understanding of beauty in theater.

My journey in theater started during my freshman year, when I first stepped into a school production. At that time, everything felt new and a little overwhelming, but it sparked my interest in acting. The first play I was in was called Vampires, Zombies, Oh my! It was a funny, PG-13 comedy.

My sophomore year, I moved schools, so I didn’t get the chance to join the production that year, which was La Posada Magica. In my junior year there was no play, due to our theater teacher giving birth.

Senior year I was determined to do at least one production, and to my luck, there were two.

Each play has helped me improve my skills and pushed me to step outside my comfort zone. Last semester, I was part of Harvest Moon, which helped me build more confidence and get comfortable performing in front of an audience, and working closely with a cast. This semester, when I first learned about La Casa de Bernarda Alba, I was excited but also a bit nervous. The play has deeper themes and more emotional intensity compared to what I had done before. Getting into my role required me to really understand the character and the story as a whole.

I played La Criada, who is a maid, even though the role isn’t the main character, she plays an important role as she helps reveal tension, conflicts, and the dark secrets inside the house.

There were scenes where I had to show strong emotions. It required a lot of time and dedication in order to connect an emotional impact with the cast.

When rehearsals began, I was unsure on how I was going to adjust, but as rehearsals continued, I started to feel more connected to some of my cast and the play itself.

It was very challenging having to manage both the play and my homework, since we were staying in the theater sometimes until 7:30 p.m.

Despite those struggles, working through them helped me improve and gave us an opportunity to work under pressure while getting the job done.

The rehearsal process had both ups and downs. There were days when everything came together perfectly, and I felt proud of my performance and the group’s progress.

But there were also challenging moments, like forgetting lines, conflicts, or feeling stressed about getting everything right.

There were multiple days where my cast mates and I forgot our lines, we had to start fresh every time in order to learn them properly. It took months having to memorize and know where our blocking truly was, it was very stressful.

Many of the cast members had last minute conflicts that put the production in a tight situation.
Due to these conflicts, we were down four actors within the span of two weeks. We were suddenly missing nearly half of the cast, which made it difficult to continue, especially because we only had a few weeks left before our first performance.

In order to keep the production going, two students from my fifth period advanced theater class were recruited to join the cast at the last minute, while the other two roles were filled by students who volunteered to step in and help the production.

Even though they only had about three weeks before opening night, they accepted the challenge of learning their lines, blocking, and scenes in a short amount of time.

Their willingness to help relieved a great amount of stress from the rest of the cast and allowed the production to slowly come back together.

This production was very different from the others I had been part of, especially because it was an all-female cast.

We had to build strong bonds with one another in order to create something meaningful on stage. There were days when stress affected everyone, including our director, which sometimes led to frustration throughout rehearsals.

As a result, many of us felt overwhelmed, confused, and disappointed. At times, I even considered quitting because of the pressure caused by rehearsals and the uncertainty of whether the production would come together in time.

The final week of rehearsals was especially chaotic because of all the pressure, and some of us still did not have our lines fully memorized.

Despite these challenges, there was so much growth from both me and the rest of the cast. We worked through the difficult moments together and gave everything we had to the production.
Opening night came around, and although everyone was excited, we were also nervous because of everything we had gone through during rehearsals.

The first weekend of performances was a little shaky at times since many of us were still adjusting to performing in front of a live audience.

There were moments where lines were forgotten or scenes did not flow as smoothly as we had practiced. However, with each performance, the cast became more comfortable and confident on stage.

By the second weekend, everything started coming together much more naturally. The cast had stronger chemistry, scenes flowed better, and we were finally able to fully enjoy being on stage together.

Seeing the audience react to the emotional moments in the play made all the hard work, stress, and long rehearsals feel worth it.

When the final performance ended, it felt emotional knowing that all the time we spent rehearsing together was officially over. Looking back, the production taught me patience, teamwork, and perseverance.

Although the process was stressful and unpredictable, it became one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in theater.

Looking back, I realize that the struggles were not only obstacles, but opportunities for growth.

Theater helped me become more confident not only on stage, but also in everyday life.

Most importantly, it showed me how people can come together during difficult situations and still create something meaningful.

As my final year of high school comes to an end, I am truly grateful that I was able to find theater again before graduating.

Theater became more than just performing on stage, it became a second home where I felt accepted, challenged, and connected with others.

Throughout this production, I formed strong bonds with many of the girls in the cast, and they became more than just castmates to me.

I admire how strong, hardworking, and resilient they all were throughout the entire process, even during the most stressful moments.

Although this chapter of theater is coming to an end for me, it is something I will always cherish and continue to carry with me.

I know I will deeply miss the long rehearsals, the backstage chaos, the excitement before the curtain opened, and the people who made every moment worth it.

More than anything, I am thankful for the memories, friendships, and experiences theater gave me throughout high school, and I know it will always hold a special place in my life.