GHS Theater duo take top state honors
Deissy Hernandez and Arabella Reyna are graduating as UIL Theatrical Design State Champions.
Hernandez took gold in Set Design, while Reyna took silver in Costume Design. Both students were designing for the play “Man of La Mancha,” which the theater department took to UIL competition this year.
When designing for “Man of La Mancha,” which is set in 17th century Spain, both Hernandez and Reyna kept their designs contemporary to the time period, and chose designs that embodied messages of the storyline.
Going off of previous years at UIL, Hernandez and Reyna said they didn’t expect to do as well as they did.
“I've been able to qualify for state three years in a row,” Reyna said. “I've never placed, but I've always qualified, always gone there to see what all the other designs are, what I was up against. And then this year, I finally place second. I would have been happy with fifth or sixth. it blew me away, because costume is one of the biggest events, it's the one that has the biggest competition.”
Hernandez, who won first place in set design, said she was originally just thankful to qualify. Reyna delivered the good news.
“I was like, ‘I’m okay that I qualified for state,’” Hernandez said. “And then I got a call from Arabella, and I just heard screaming. They were like, ‘You’re a State Champion!’ It was really exciting.”
Reyna said she is pursuing a career in Costume Design and is appealing an admissions decision from the University of Houston with the intention to study there. Hernandez will be attending The University of Texas at Austin this fall, studying biology with the eventual goal of working in a Veterinary Clinic.
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