Drama teacher Ellen DiFilippo’s students attended the Tracy Unified School District Monologue Festival on March 23. This festival highlights outstanding students who have excelled in their studies and displayed talent in their classes. Letita Cavlan, Katie Daly, Kevin Green, Morgan Harrison, Kaylee Harvey, Kate Holmes, Alyssa Iturriaga, Kendal Oetken, Elizabeth Ortiz, and Joseph Wheatley were Tracy High students who participated.

“Out of the 27 participants across three levels, 10 of them were Tracy High drama students,” DiFilippo said. “The kids preformed a small skit that they had written previous weeks, then preformed in the showcase to the audience.

Freshman Iturriaga, in DiFilippo’s Drama 1 class, was one of four freshman that was selected for the showcase.

“Drama was one of my favorite things to do as a kid, and continue to show those skills in   school,” Iturriaga said. “It was such a shock that I was chosen for this showcase with other members of my class. Even though it was only the beginning level, it felt like a great accomplishment.”

Juniors Harrison and Daly were students that were chosen for Advanced 1 level. Both practiced daily for the showcase.

“Even though I have performed multiple times, this showcase was actually made me a lot more nervous since it wasn’t just our school there, but other schools as well,” Harrison said. “All the students here were all looking for the same thing, to show what they can do as drama students.”

“When preparing for any king of performance, you have to make sure that the way you act is expressed to the best of your capabilities,” Daly said. “You can easily tell those who haven’t practiced or put in of the best effort in their characters for the presentation.”

“All of the students I selected had all shown exceptual work. The students surprised me the most were the freshmen,” DiFilippo said. “Despite being in first level drama, they showed much skill.”

Junior Cavlan was one of the few 10 students chosen for the Advanced 2 level.

“With me being a junior, I felt pressured to do my best with what I performed for the audience, and I prepared the best I could for it,” Cavlan said. “I recited lines in my head and practiced the movements in my room.”

DiFilippo looks forward to see the experience students can bring out, and hopes to see even more from these students in future school years.