The Crow Collective was a collection of scenes from different plays presented in a show. Its goal was to help prepare students wanting to take their scene to state. My scene was from Rabbit Hole by David Lindsey Abair. The role of Howard forced me to tap into a dark and bitter mindset deeper than I had to previously in my acting career. The play focuses on a couple struggling to recover after the death of their young child, Daniel. I had to tap into the grief and hopelessness that would accompany such a tragedy. I also had to invision myself in the complex world of marriage. It was an emotionally taxing piece that I had to learn the inner workings for. I had to want to avoid confrontation with my wife while also portraying that deep down I wanted it. There is also a point in the scene where I yell and berate my wife for removing pictures of our son from our house. It was a difficult role to study, but it taught me the true depth of emotions and wants that acting can portray.

The Wizard of Oz was the musical I had worked the hardest on to this point in my acting. I stepped up from supporting to lead, and I had big shoes to fill. I was fairly satisfied with my acting ability, but my singing and dancing needed major improvement. I worked more outside of school to prepare for the role. I practiced choreography, studied my lines, and even ran on the treadmill while singing to improve my vocal stamina. Stamina was a big concern of mine early on because my costume was heavy and extremely hot, not to mention the dancing and singing I had to do while in it. I can say that a lot of what inspired me was my fellow leads and their progress, in addition to the prospect of The Jester Awards, a statewide competition for high school musicals in Kansas. I ended up being nominated for my region but ultimately did not move on to state nomination. This was the musical that opened my eyes to the fact that I could be good enough at singing and dancing for a lead role if I put in the work.

Cyrano was my first introduction to elevated performing. I played a French count from the 1600s named De Guiche. I had to learn quickly that the language in the play required clear diction and passion to read well. I ended up having to annunciate and talk more to the front of my mouth than I ever had to before. I also had the opportunity to play a type of character I had never played before. De Guiche is the villian of the story, but he is also at his core a slimy and deeply mysogonistic person. I had to play up his desires while also keeping in mind that he is a member of high society, hence his duke status. Although, he has a redemp[tion of sorts at the end where he, beaten and elderly, admits to admiring Cyrano after previously despising him. I also had to adapt to the farcical nature of the show aswell. I feel that this show has shown me how good comedic timing can bring up a show and that certain characters should be acted with a specific arc. They can't be the same person as they were at the start because the events during the play had forever changed them.

Night Among the Stars is a caberet performance we do at the end of each school year for the theatre program. It features different scenes and songs from different plays and musicals. I was involved in a scene from Picnic, The Crucible, Lady in the Long Black Dress from Sister Act, and Cruisin for a Bruisin from Teen Beach Movie. This show was a lot of stress and switching characters. I had to get in the headspace for Judge Danforth and perform it and then switch costumes quickly and then get ready to do the comedic "Cruisin for a Bruisin." This show taught me that I'm capable of more than I think. At the beginning I did not believe that I could pull off all of these performances and do well at them. I ended up being very satisfied with my acting in all four performances. I wish that I had more time to nail the vocals for Lady in the Long Black dress, but the song went great regardless. Night among the Stars 2026 really taught me that putting yourself out there for a lot of things at once isn't as scary as I had thought previously.