HARLINGEN — They don’t always have a voice, so these two young actors wanted to speak for them.
Tristen Rosales and Joseph Echavarria, both 18, spoke very well recently for people with autism. They communicated their message in a dramatic performance at the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions in Denver earlier this month.
The two seniors from Harlingen High School’s Speech, Drama and Debate Team performed so well they earned ninth in the nation. Teams from 42 states competed in the event.
Tristen and Joseph had to choose a section of a work dealing with a real-life issue.
“It has to be something happening in the world,” said Tristen. “We wanted to do something about autism.”
They chose a short play by Kristy Thomas called “Heroes of Adventure.”
In the play, Tristen plays a young man named Mr. Evan who is a caregiver for a boy named Nicholas who has autism. Joseph plays the role of Nicholas.
Autism is a personal issue for both young men.
Tristen’s nephew has a higher-functioning form of autism, plus some friends with the condition. Joseph’s cousin has autism. Many people with higher-functioning autism can speak very well but have difficulty in social situations.
Tristen and Joseph wanted to go beyond the usual perceptions about autism and show who people with the condition really are.
“They’re brilliant,” Joseph said with a smile.
In their performance, Nicholas is reading a book to Mr. Evan about all sorts of heroic adventures. Nicholas is so captivated by the book he imagines himself as the hero in the story. As the hero, he kicks into swift action when a giant spider captures Mr. Evan, ensnaring him in a web. Nicholas rushes to Mr. Evan’s aid, cutting away the webs and freeing him.
In the performance, Tristen as Mr. Evan is standing on a chair when the spider captures him. As Nicholas frees him, he falls backwards so that Mr. Evan has to catch him.
“That was probably the most challenging,” Tristen said.
During the story, an evil snake keeps slithering in to defeat Nicholas.
“You can’t defeat me,” Nicholas tells the snake. “You can’t.”
Nicholas’s sheer will and determination are enough to drive the snake away.
However, the second time the snake creeps in, Nicholas is unable to drive it away. He takes the loss really hard, Tristen said.
“That’s when he comes out of the book and back into reality,” Tristen said.
The boy becomes enraged and devastated by failure. That’s when Tristen, aka Mr. Evan, goes to Nicholas and tells him he’s OK just as he is. He assures him he doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone.
This was precisely the message Tristen and Joseph wanted to extend about autism.
“There’s nothing wrong with them mentally or physically,” he insisted.
HHS Speech, Drama and Debate Team Sponsor and Teacher Tasha Kneis was delighted by the students’ success.
“We have had a fantastic year,” she said. “I am very proud of them. They took on a cause. They told a story that millions don’t get to tell. It’s very powerful.”
Tristen had been attending Early College High School until this year. He’d done some acting with the
Harlingen Performing Arts Theather. Kneis said he contributed some great ideas to the program which she found useful.
Tristen’s performance was so powerful it has captured the attention of Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. He’s been invited to audition for the theater program there.
