Theater life is possibly the most wonderful, challenging opportunity for a middle school kid. But balancing a script with a pile of homework isn’t always easy. Learning lyrics, choreography, and countell lines is rough on its own, but doing all that and keeping a beautiful GPA is a beast. Imagine having a lead, where you’re center stage almost all the time.

That’s the life of Day Creek Coyotes Natalya W., Diego A., Wenda Z., Jacob R., and Juliet T. 

“First was the voice cracks. I couldn’t breathe. I kept forgetting to breathe when I was singing, so I kept voice-cracking. Then I lost my voice. On Thursday after the show, when I said ‘Do you believe?’ I screamed way too loud and my voice went out, so I couldn’t do anything. The last thing I said was ‘I gotta crow,’ and then I just went mute for the rest of the time. The next day, I was on vocal rest the whole day. I had to put a piece of tape over my mouth because I talk a lot. That was really hard,” Natalya said.

Having acted since she was 10 years old, being on stage has always been a central part of Natalya’s life. 

“I joined drama because I’ve loved to act since fifth grade. I did a Hamilton performance: ‘Guns and Ships’ at Golden Elementary. After, I got an agent and joined Creative Artists Agency. I discovered that acting was my passion. When I found out Day Creek had a school play, I was ecstatic. Last year, I did Beauty and the Beast, and this year I was in Peter Pan,” said Natalya.

Once the studio lights flip on, missing assignments, scheduling makeup tests, and finishing homework make a stage call of their own, all while actors fly to Neverland and battle pirates. 

“I had to keep my grades up, so I sometimes went after drama to ask for homework,” said Wenda Z.

Though Peter Pan carried the bulk of the script, Michael (Diego), John (Wenda), Wendy (Juliet), and Captain Hook (Jacob) also had significant stage time.

“[Ugh-a-Wug] with the brave girls and all the lost boys was kind of hard to learn because it was super long and there were a bunch of people onstage,” Diego said.

Yet drama isn’t all stress. Offstage, actors enjoyed brief moments to dance, talk, and play the occasional game of Kiss, Marry, Kill. 

“Between scenes was fun. We weren’t able to see each other while we were onstage. So we got to talk backstage,” said Diego.

There were a myriad of additional challenges during each of the nine shows. Voices strained and croaked, mics dropped without warning, costume pieces disappeared unexpectedly and set pieces smacked the occasional actor in the head. And then there was the rain, which came down in buckets during each of the two weekend shows. Even with the tents set up on the outside stage, it was impossible to move outside without getting drenched. 

“The rain was a problem because my shoes, which were made of fabric, got soaked every time I stepped in a puddle. So whenever I was onstage, it was slippery from my wet shoes,” Natalya said. 

Despite the drama in creating one, everybody appeared to enjoy the experience, which was evident at the final curtain call. 

“Thank you so much for this amazing experience, I love you all. You’re the reason why I’m happy at the end of the day,” said Juliet.