HARLINGEN — It’s a class act on so many levels.

Harlingen High School and Harlingen High School South made history earlier this month when they both won a chance to compete in the Region IV 6-A One-Act Play Competition.

And, it was the first time Harlingen High School ever advanced to region, said Lee Ann Ince, fine arts coordinator for the Harlingen school district. They’ll compete Wednesday and Thursday at the competition being held here at the Harlingen Performing Arts Conservatory.

“This is exciting because it’s the first year HCISD has the opportunity to host regionals,” Ince said. “In the past we always had to go to San Antonio.”

Six schools from throughout the Valley competed at the bi-district meet earlier this month at the PAC. Harlingen High School impressed judges with its performance of “Taking Leave”; Harlingen High School South presented “Anatomy of Gray.”

“Taking Leave’ is a beautiful show about Alzheimer’s,” Ince said. “It deals with the family dynamic. What do you do when someone isn’t ready to go to a home yet? And then the denial, does he have Alzheimer’s? So it’s a nice story. There are six in that cast.”

One of those is Tristan Flores, 17, who plays Eliot – 1.

“It’s short for Eliot once removed,” said Tristan, a junior at HHS.

“It’s a counterpart of the actual real-life Eliot who is in the show and he’s interacting with other people,” Tristan said. “I play the part of him that is cognizant of each and every step that Eliot is taking and how he is coping with the disease.”

So powerful was his performance that he was named lead performer at the bi-district meet. He was very modest about his own accolade but noticeably thrilled about him and his cast members taking first place. How did they do it?

“I just feel like going back to our crew and how close we are with each other, and how much of an understanding we have with the literature and the story itself,” he said. “And it’s obviously seen throughout our work.”

Harlingen High School South won second place for their performance “Anatomy of Gray” at the district 32-6A One-Act Play Contest in early March. The Bi-District Regional One Act Play competition will take place this week at the Harlingen Performing Arts Center. (Maricela Rodriguez/Valley Morning Star)

Harlingen South’s “Anatomy of Gray” presented Aaron Blount’s portrayal of June Muldoon, a frustrated teenager of the 1880s in the midst of, of all things, a pandemic.

“She is a 15-year-old girl going on 16 and she basically thinks that her town is the most boring town in the world,” said Aaron, 16, a junior at South.

“She’s never left it,” she said. “They’re not very technologically advanced, they don’t know much about science or medical, and she wants a way out of there to make her own path in the world. She wants to learn things and experience things and she just lost her father at the beginning of the show.”

Jane Muldoon, Aaron explained, is also struggling with matters of faith in a town that is deeply religious. And it’s the middle of a plague which obviously Aaron and the other actors can relate to. Basically, June’s world is turning upside down.

“I really enjoy just being able to be young in the role,” Aaron said. “The past roles I’ve played were more mature people and this role just allows me to take experiences from my own life and past years and kind of make it as authentic as possible.”

So relevant were many of the emotions of the work that the 15 cast members also made it to regionals.

“It’s been really a light at the end of the tunnel for me and the other students like me in this organization,” said Aaron, who was also named top performer from her school.

“Just the fact that we get to perform is a blessing to me,” she said. “I couldn’t care less about the advancing, I just love performing with the community and team.”

In another first, Eddy Cavazos is having a banner year as a first-year theater instructor at Harlingen South. His joy over the school making it to regionals was palpable.

“It’s been really exciting to be a part of it all, getting to work with students, getting to tweak the show every round is really amazing,” he said, “as Aaron was saying especially in this time of uncertainty when theater has just kind of been in limbo.”

He said the real power of this story is in its portrayal of human resilience.

“It’s about how humans react in a fight or flight situation,” he said. “One of the central themes of the show is love and loss. I think it’s very relevant to the pandemic and everything we’re going through right now.”

Christopher Esparza, theater director at HHS, also spoke of the success of “Taking Leave” in the time of COVID.

“The biggest payoff is seeing these kids so excited to perform again during this pandemic,” he said. “We are just so blessed and excited to be here and make this historical moment.”

He and fellow director Bradley Durio began working on the production in February.

“I think what the kids enjoy most is that they can all relate to the feeling of processing a change in life,” Esparza said. “They’re all trying to cope.”

The competition will be open to the public at the Conservatory. Admission is $10. For more information, visit www.hcisdpa.org.

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