By CLAIRE LAWRENCE, Vandegrift Voice

Bright lights illuminate the theater. Sharp and contrasting shadows are casted on the faces and bodies of actors standing on stage. It’s the start of “Archipelago” — the one act play that Vandegrift Vipers performed twice for competition last week.  

On March 20, Vipers advanced to bi-district, and on March 23, they took the stage in Smithson Valley.

“It’s super exciting,” director Celeste Schneider said. “I’m really proud of them and truly honored and humbled. It shows what awesome kids we have here at Vandegrift.”

When awards at the first round of competition were called out, tears of joy and laughter spilled from the cast and crew. Five students were awarded. Sophomore Emma Alvarez-Roth received outstanding technician, seniors Jack Rosenblatt and Madison Woodrom were awarded in all-star cast, and senior Corbin King and junior Grace Hedges were given honorable mention all-star cast.

“That award the other cast members and I got is nothing without the help of every single one of the cast and crew members. This is very much ‘our’ award,” Rosenblatt said.

In preparation for Friday’s round, the students and directors got in as much work as possible. Going over reviews from the previous competition and improving on fundamental factors.

“As far as preparing goes…  I have a playlist that really helps me get in the mindset to perform, Woodrom said.

With the notes and criticism the show received from the first round of competition, the cast and crew had two days prior to bi-district to work on the show and make the message even stronger.

“We are really building on everything and digging deeper for emotion and making the show as good as it can be,” Hedges said. “ We are also trying to incorporate that [the judges notes] into the show while still keeping the heart of what we have worked on.”

UIL competitions get harder with each advancement, which makes nerves higher and the suspension tighter. The judging is also different, basing their scores on personal opinions rather than quality.

“A judge might place us lower in the ranking if he or she doesn’t like the time period the show was set in, for example,” Woodrom said. “Our judges are human beings with human biases. It’s entirely subjective. That’s why it’s such a big deal that we made it past the first round at all.”

This is Schneider’s first year working with this group of students and other directors, including John Conner and John Alonso.  

Results from Friday’s competition: Hedges got best actress award, Rosenblatt got all star award, Alvarez-Roth got honorable award, Jenna Hoover got tech award.

“We came in as an alternate by a slim margin,” Schneider said. VHS did not advance.