Last Saturday on Feb. 7, Emerson High School hosted the Middle School UIL competition, including theatre UIL. This was an opportunity for current theatre students to volunteer and help out prior to the competitions.This was an exciting experience for Emerson Theater, as this is the second year they have been able to host. The theatre UIL contest consists of a short seven-minute setup, after which each school from the Frisco district performs a short 30-minute play. There were many jobs that high school students could participate in, such as helping the schools with directions and schedules or helping judges.
“My job consisted of making sure the judges were well taken care of throughout the day. I made sure that they had all the materials to do their job efficiently,” Ananya Deshpande, 9, said.
There was also a tech helper who spectatated and controlled the fly-in curtains. Lastly, there was a crew for the box office and the house crew who were responsible for greeting guests.
Volunteering not only helps out the middle schools, but also helps high school students who are preparing for their own UIL with certain skills.
“Every time you see a show, you can pick up on things that you can learn and you can implement into your own work, so it helps me improve while also enjoying watching,” William Webster, 11 said.
Many of these students participated in UIL during middle school, so this was special for them to be part of.
“…When I see the kids I remember how in middle school it was such a big deal to me so seeing them experiencing it and truly falling in love with theatre is rewarding,” Webster said.
With such a long day of helping, there were a lot of highlights and memorable moments.
“My favorite part of helping was seeing the middle schoolers work together and seeing all their hard work pay off on stage. Seeing relieved… and accomplished faces after their performances truly brought back so many memories,” Deshpande said.
There were many takeaways from this experience, but the joy and excitement that hosts and helpers got to experience were unforgettable. As Emerson’s junior varsity (JV) and Varsity Theatre are heading into the UIL competition, this was a fun and useful experience to take with them to their competitions.
