Aleis Work, 11

What are you involved in on campus? Theatre, that’s what I do. I’m drama club President. I’m in three theater classes: productions B, musical theatre, and theatre II-IV. I participate in our improv club, which is an offshoot from theater, and I’m in our fall show right now. I’ll be auditioning for our musical.

Why are you so interested in theater, and what about it draws you? It’s what I love to do. I started in third grade, and I love being on the stage. I love being the center of attention in general, not going to lie. I love being on the stage, and I love creating characters. I love breathing life into a story and presenting it and making people think. It sounds funny, but I never feel more myself than when I’m pretending to be someone else.

What are your other hobbies/interests? I am a state thespian officer. That means I plan and prepare a huge festival for all the theater troupes in Texas. It’s huge, and we have over 8,000 people in attendance this year. I’m super excited. I also do films; I’ve done multiple short films. I’m chatting with an agency right now and hopefully, I’ll be doing a lot more film. I like to read. I don’t do a lot outside of theater. I play Dungeons and Dragons if that’s a hobby; I like Dungeons and Dragons.

Have you had a best moment during school yet? I would say my best moment was the callbacks for the fall show. Those were the most intense auditions I’ve ever had in my life. Everybody was so good. We have fantastic actors at this school, I don’t know if you know that. Competing against them and getting to work with them for those auditions was super intense, and I loved every second of it.

What made you want to be the president of Drama Club? I like leading and I have a lot of ideas and ways I want to improve our theater program. I like being able to be in a position that I can do that. Anybody in our theater department has a say. I also wanted to be in this position so I could give them a lot of say. I know that people last year- not to the discredit of our officers last year; I love them- but I know that some people were intimidated by them just because they were older. I definitely want to make sure that everyone feels loved and included this year. Being president gives me a position to do that and be at the center of what I love.

What are your plans for theater after high school? I’ve done a lot of college research lately. College is so expensive, especially a fine arts college. I definitely want to go to study acting in college. I haven’t decided whether or not I want to do a university or a conservatory program yet, but I want to do acting and film acting, not necessarily musical theatre. I want to go to school in either Los Angeles or New York or Chicago, somewhere where the film center is big so that I can look for work while I go to school.

What’s your favorite memory of theater? In middle school, I did “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and that was the first show that I had a prominent role. I had the female lead in that show, and it was very deep. I think it was one of the first shows that pushed me as an actor, and I loved it. I enjoyed every second of it. My middle school theater director there was Mr. Fowler, and he was and still is probably my greatest inspiration.

Can you tell me anything about the upcoming fall show? I’m not going to spoil the plot for you, but I will tell you that it’s funny. It’s so hilarious. We’re the ones performing it every day, and we still have to pause for laughter, even when we’re rehearsing it. It’s going to be so funny. I’m the female lead, Tracy. Mark McKnight is the male lead, Fred, and he’s hilarious. He’s very funny, and he’s good at comedic timing. It’s a fun one. It’s got spies and there’s mayhem and chaos. It’s not as long as the show last year, but it’s still really funny.