Aldine ISD Theater Students Deliver Impressive Performances at 2016 State Thespian Festival

More than 20 AISD students advance to nationals and one educator receives honor for her service.

More than 7,000 thespians from across the state attended the 2016 Festival.

Carver High School, Eisenhower Ninth Grade School, Davis High School, Aldine High School and Eisenhower High School theater troupes competed at the Festival.

Each year, the Texas State Festival gives students opportunities to perform and earn recognition. Activities include:

[ul class=”list list-search”] [li]Workshops[/li] [li]Main Stage performances [/li][/ul][ul class=”list list-search”] [li]Play marathons[/li] [li]College auditions [/li][/ul][ul class=”list list-search”] [li]Performance competitions[/li] [li]Technical competitions [/li][/ul][ul class=”list list-search”] [li]Nationally acclaimed guest speakers[/li]

Carver Troupe

[li]Opportunities to advance to the International Thespian Society National Festival [/li][/ul]

The sessions and workshops help the young thespians develop their acting and technical theater skills.

In the competition portion, Carver and Eisenhower students shined. More than 20 earned Superior ratings and will advance to the International Thespian Society National Festival held each June in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Students Advancing to Nationals

Costume Design — Ahrealie Holly @ Carver HS
Duet Acting — Jerycah Lee & Loren Dickie @ Carver HS
Duet Acting — Je’Qwan Owens & India Sherman @ Carver HS
Duet Acting — Anthony Piñeda & Jonathan Gonzales @ Eisenhower HS
Duet Acting — Remerica Earl & Dionica Lewis @ Davis HS
Group Musical — Elysa Aguilar, Jaela Amos, Jazmyne Charles, Lauryn Cornish, Miriam Hernández, Ashlee Walker & Arielle Wilson @ Carver HS
Group Musical — Kevin Crear, Rmanie Davis, Christian Dixon, Raphel Humphrey, Je’Qwan Owens, Bishop Pearsall & Debrycen Sumuel @ Carver HS
Monologue — Kirby Jackson @ Carver HS 
Monologue — Catherine Ewing @ Eisenhower HS
Monologue — Anthony Christopher @ Eisenhower HS

Eisenhower Troupes

Eisenhower finalists.

Eisenhower also had a number of students earn Excellent ratings in their respective categories. The groups musical performance by Nazaret Cruz, Brenda Souza, Javion Cox, Jardon Brown, Deja Casey, Bryan Sarabia, Ashley Villagran and Kenlye McClendon earned an Excellent rating. Tyrese Johnson, Edward Bautista, Adrianna Mendoza, Kayla Williams, Cain Vasquez and Jeremiah Smith received an Excellent rating for their group acting performance. Competing in the solo musical category, Selena Pointdexterbrown took home an Excellent rating. Theater students also get a chance to earn recognition in technical and costume categories. Leslie Cavazos (sound design), Wilson Robles (light design) and Lizbeth Coronel (costume design) all earned Excellent ratings.

Texas Thespians Honor AISD Educator

Roshunda Jones (far left) shows off her award.

Carver’s theater director once again received recognition. During the Texas Thespians Hall of Fame Reception, Roshunda Jones received the 2016 Above and Beyond Award. The chapter honored Jones for her service to Texas Thespians. Jones currently serves as the Playworks/Musicalworks Chair and Co-Advisor of the Student State Board for the Festival. This is the second consecutive year the Carver educator wins the Award.

Carver has a solid theater program at the magnet campus. The program has garnered Tommy Tune and UIL One-Act Play awards.

Texas Thespians also gives students an opportunity to take on leadership roles. Carver student Ahreaile Holly was elected to the Student State Board. This is the student governing board for Texas Thespians. 

Carver also had a senior audition for colleges. Elysa Aguilar received 10 college callbacks. The schools included Ouachita Baptist University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Lamar University, Lone Star College, University of Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma City University, Louisiana State University, Lee College as well as the Relativity School (Hollywood, CA).

Group picture of all the AISD theater troupes at the Texas State Thespians Festival.

Congratulations! And “Break a Leg” at Nationals!

Carver High School made [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]U.S. News & World Report‘s Best High Schools in the U.S. rankings. [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Carver, a magnet school, focuses on engineering, applied technology and the arts.

[icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Eisenhower HS made U.S. News & World Report’s Best High Schools in the U.S. rankings. Eisenhower is also an International Baccalaureate World School.