HUMANS OF BELLAIRE – Madelyn Carrillo

“I joined theater [class] last year, which made everything so much more fun. I found a team and a family in the tech group, and we started something called ‘Go team.’ It’s like a motto we have, so we say it all the time.

Theater is [a big commitment]. I’m here all the time. I never leave. Musical season, I was here almost every Saturday. Then for UIL, I was here [during] spring break. This week, we have little student-directed shows after school, so I’m here every day. I’m usually everywhere. I like being backstage or calling the show. For the musical this year, “Grease,” I was sitting at the sound booth, and I was on the headset talking to everybody. Sometimes, problems come up, so we try to solve them as quickly as possible because at that point, all the teachers have stepped away. And I try to help out wherever I can. I’ve worked almost all the shows that have been put on here, like the eMotion dance concerts. Anything that happens in the auditorium, there’s usually tech people working, so I’ve done a lot of those.

I took Tech One online for a fine arts credit sophomore year, so we were all virtual. Our teacher, Mrs. Underhill, made me very interested in what we were doing, even online. So I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll audition.’ And then I got in. Last year, I joined [theater] for the first time, and that was my first time doing anything theater related. I was thrown in the deep end of the first show of the year, the 24-hour showcase, so that’s where I was really like, ‘This is fun. I’m having fun.’ And now, I’m the vice president of the theater company.

I have so many fond memories of just being here [with] all the people I’ve met and friends I’ve made. I’m going into tech theater in college, at Boston University. It [my major] is something tech theater related. I just don’t know specifically what yet, but without joining theater in high school, I would not have gone down that path. 

[For underclassmen], just have fun. Enjoy your life. Don’t just [focus on] academics; have other fun things you can do.”