"The Early Spotlight Debut" by Andres Perez-Lopez

Shining in the spotlight, shining on the stage and shining in their performances. Theatre is their shining place for some professional actors to appear on stage in performances. However, there’s only one kid who is working for the lobby during performances. And that's me, Andres Perez-Lopez. New person to the production crew at West High, but sometimes on certain teen stories like “New kid in the block”. Well, I am here because I am new, but I look older than the other kids in the school. I am talented and a great helper. However, did I join the production crew earlier in the role of marketing? How did I feel interested in joining marketing/advertising earlier?

It is the first month of 2022 and I found out there is an audition for the spring play, The Crimson House Murder. I felt like there was a theater play because the directors and stage managers were putting up the Spring play since I joined the Drama Club via Zoom after the 2020-2021 school year. I didn’t go to Drama Club often due to a lot of homework and projects to do. Rather than audition to be on the cast (which I would be embarrassed and underperformed if I didn’t practice or memorize the lines), I filled out an application to do the marketing crew for the play, because I do need to find an activity to do for NWJH after I did one activity for Trimesters 1 and half of 2 for boys basketball team for the Winter season. I got called for the interview via email on January 26. One of the directors of the play, Ms. Freund, asked to take the offer for the role of Marketing/Advertising member. I typed a 155-word interview for being interested in being a tech crew and the schedule for the Spring play after the end of Spring Break, then I submitted.

 A few days later, I checked my email and to my surprise, I got listed on the Marketing/Advertising team. I feel surprised as if I won the tickets to the Taylor Swift concert. After I got cast, I started to think about what the production would look like, such as getting along with the crew and getting to know each other, since I am a socialist. The time is production as the first meeting hits on January 31, 2022, and I attend here alongside many kids for the meeting. They are in the spot for the meetings and beyond the show for the spring season of school. A month later, after spring break on March 21, 2022, it’s back to school for me. Another rehearsal is happening and it’s just for select crew members. Even though I am not required to be in attendance since the marketing is not required until performance week, I decided to stay at the little theater for the remainder of the rehearsals and even do my homework and play with my Mario Red and Blue edition of Nintendo Switch.

Several weeks later. Friday, April 29, 2022, is the day that the performance opened. The cast and crew are be ready for action, but they are overreacting as it’s the opening night to the point that one of the stage manager escorted me in a serious tone as the directors and managers are really stressed, stressed as like if the Black Friday shopping is happening in November like they told me “We are very stress as today is the opening night”. I decided to give up on being weak and forced myself to watch the performance. It’s like they are having a great time while I am being silent. I think to myself, “Am I the ghost, am I a nobody, am I, who am I?” as they are performing while I sit in the auditorium, watching the show and doing nothing for 3 performances for 3 days. After the final show on Sunday night, it’s time for the cast and crew to strike, which means cleaning up the entire auditorium, disposing of costumes and destroying any of the background on the stage. I decided to help it along with cleaning up the set. It’s a long wait until the pizza arrives. The entire team is having pizza as a job is done. I also gave the invitation cards to some crew members since it’s my 16th birthday during the pizza dinner. I met a new friend who wished me a happy birthday, and we started to get to know each other for a while until it’s all over. The spotlight was shut, the curtains closed and the performance was silent though the darkness. It’s a regular day of school, as if the performances were nothing.

Over the months since the final curtain was closed, I’ve been more focused at NWJH with the finals and it’s challenging for me to do final projects and quizzes to get a high grade to leave for school to enter West High School (which is the place where I am right now). I found out about Theatre West for the 2022-2023 school year with both Clue and Beauty and the Beast, however, I declined the offer as I chose eSports over it, as it has fun activities like a trampoline park. As time passed by to 11th grade, I decided to join Theatre West as a sound crew member, but the director, Ms. Nahra, told me to switch to production to have less work time than the other crew. So I joined in. To this day, I’m in the production crew for Theatre West as doing theatre for NWJH inspires me to join the production crew, as facing my past-self has inspired me for my future choice to join the crew for a single early job becomes a production team, becomes responsible and becomes the new person in the theatre crew.