Senior Jisella Ayala grips her castmates’ hands tightly as the final curtain draws to a close. She looks around the stage and sees all of her closest friends smiling in awe at the bright lights. She’s done this since middle school, but it seems as though every time the show comes to an end, the cast never separates.
Theater keeps her together.
“Everyone that comes through and stays in theater is just so willing to learn about it because there is stuff you have to learn behind it,” Ayala said. “It’s not just memorize some lines and go on there, you have to do research, and there are different styles. If you do a style in a different way, and you do it wrong, it’s kind of insulting to people.”
Ayala’s theater career didn’t begin her freshman year, but way back in seventh grade. Her involvement has since expanded, as she became President of the Theatre club.
“In seventh grade they asked me if I could play an instrument or sing, and my response was always ‘no,’” Ayala said. “They gave me the option of theater and stuck me into theater, and then Mrs. Starr was there and she was interesting. So I stuck around for the second year and she left, but by then it was two years too late. I might as well continue.”
Ayala built a strong bond with the members of the theater club. They spent hours during competition season and nights together watching movies and playing games.
“They’re my first family,” Ayala said, holding one finger up. “They care about everybody, and they haven’t even met you yet. It’s just really good, they’re good.”
Ayala’s parents divorced at a younger age, and her mother recently moved to College Station with her little sister. The relationships she built in theater kept her sane. Kept her comfortable.
“I had to move in with my dad,” Ayala said. “It’s just like I gave up a lot for that. The comfort of my childhood home, stuff like that. Theater and the people was what helped me cope with that.”
As for her life aspirations, Ayala doesn’t believe she will continue theater but realises it will help her in the future.
“Theater is something that I love, and I’m passionate about it,” Ayala said. “ But it’s not my passion in life. It’s not what I want to base my career around. But has taught me lots of things that I will use in my career, like, I can get up on stage and talk to people, and it’s not a big deal.”
