AISD Students Shine at the Texas State Thespian Festival; 1 Wins for Best Original Play, 31 Advance to Nationals
District schools bring home top awards from the event, which draws more than 8,000 delegates.
High school theater students from the district delivered outstanding performances at the Texas State Thespian Festival held Nov. 21-23 in Grapevine, TX.
Each year, the Texas Thespians organization hosts a statewide festival, which includes more than 8,000 delegates. It is one of the largest annual thespian festivals where students and their troupe directors celebrate an entire weekend of theater.
The festival gives students opportunities to perform and earn recognition. Activities include:
- Workshops
- Main Stage performances
- Play marathons
- College auditions
- Performance competitions
- Technical competitions
- Nationally acclaimed guest speakers
- Opportunities to advance to the International Thespian Society National Festival
The sessions and workshops help young thespians develop their acting and technical theater skills.
Francean Houngbo, a junior theater student and playwright at Carver, was the Playworks winner with her play The Waiting Room. She received a monetary award and a professional staged reading of her play at the festival. This is the first time an Aldine ISD student wins in this category.
Aldine ISD has a total of 31 students that earned Superior ratings. Students that earn Superior ratings advance to the national competition at the International Thespian Festival held each June in Bloomington, Indiana.
Students Advancing to Nationals
Carver HS for Engineering, Applied Technology & The Arts
Scenic Design: Imani Titus
Scenic Design: Jordan Smith
Monologue: Yasaar Ellis
Solo Musical: Trinity Gaddie
Duet Acting: Folasade Asoro & Brielle Johnson
Duet Acting: Cody Dixon & Trysten Williams
Duet Musical: Jocelyn Dorsey & Kaleb Womack
Group Musical: Armani Brown, Jaya Brown, Caleb Carter, Joshua Cruise, Colby Ester, Sanaa Hill, Francean Houngbo, Prejazaclyn James, Megan Mottu, Alton Nealey, Amare’on Reyna, Caleb Sells, Oscar Villagran & Demiah Williams
Eisenhower High School
Duet Acting: Javion Cox & Clarence Moore
Solo Musical: Emma Velásquez
Solo Musical: Victoria Cerda
Stage Management: Jasmín García
MacArthur High School
Monologue: Alicia Morelos
Nimitz High School
Monologue: Leanne Duckett
AISD Students That Earned ‘Excellent’ Ratings
Carver HS
Costume Design: Ericah Rhodes
Lighting Design: Jason Chávez
Sound Design: Zavion Milburn
Theater Marketing: Siemyone Edgar
Theater Marketing: Alexis Stewart
Davis HS
Solo Musical: Damien Adams & Deja Lacy
Duet Acting: Branson Williams & Jennifer Samuel
Duet Acting: Xavier Dawson & Romance Early
Group Acting: Robin Turner, Ayesha Javier & A’Brea Dennis
Nimitz HS
Monologue: Jocelyn Tchety
Monologue: Symone Williams
Stage Management: Alyssa-Marie Palacios
Eisenhower HS
Monologue: Jardon Brown
Costume Design: Seleste Poindexterbrown
Scenic Design: Iván Rodríguez
Group Acting: Lesley Fernández, Kenny Hoang, Guillermo Hernández, My’kea Mclenon, Shayla Rich, Micaela Rivera, Carlos Rojas & Oluchi Chukuka
Carver’s Group Musical was chosen as the Main Stage Individual, and Group Event (IE) finalist meaning their piece received a perfect score from all the judges. Additionally, students Javion Cox and Clarence Moore from Eisenhower (Duet Acting) became finalists for the Mainstage Performances at the closing ceremony of the festival.
Kaleb Womack from Carver earned an extraordinary honor. He got the chance to perform in the Texas Thespian All-State Closing Ceremony with Tony winner Wilson Jermaine Heredia.
Carver seniors Armani Brown, Megan Mottu, and Oscar Villagran auditioned for college theater programs. They received a combined total of 25 callbacks from the following universities: American Musical and Dramatic Academy, Fairleigh Dickinson University, KD Conservatory College of Film and Dramatic Arts, New York Film Academy, Northwestern State University, Savannah College of Art and Design, Stephens College, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Oklahoma City University, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Texas Woman’s University, University of Houston, University of Wyoming, Waldorf University, and West Texas A&M.
Texas Thespians students can also take on leadership roles. Yasaar Ellis served his second term as a State Thespian Officer (STO), which is the student governing board for Texas Thespians. Thespians elected Cody Dixon as an officer for the upcoming year.
Roshunda Jones is the theater director at the magnet high school, while Jabari Collins is the technical director. Mason Cargile is the technical theater director at MacArthur High School. Roenia Thompson is the theater director at Davis Ninth Grade School. Crystal Rose and Kristin Wilson are the theater director at Eisenhower High School. Clayton Younkin and Kimberly J. Ardison are the theater directors at Nimitz High School.