Gracie Dalferes
As choir president, Gracie Dalferes (11) is passionate about making choir a fun, enjoyable place for everyone. She prides herself in advocating for her peers in the choir, working to communicate with her director, Cierra Fountain, to introduce new ideas or implement changes. Whether it’s suggesting a change to a song or inquiring about a banquet or event, Dalferes doesn’t hesitate to help her peers as well as her director. Additionally, she’s responsible for keeping her peers calm, especially before a show. Even if she herself is nervous, Dalferes prioritizes her peers, knowing it’s a collective effort to pull off a performance.
“If Ms. Fountain or the other [members] are like, ‘We’re having an issue,’ or ‘There’s something that we could benefit from,’ I’m usually the one that voices that to our director,’ Dalferes said.
Additionally, she’s responsible for keeping her peers calm, especially before a show. Even if she herself is nervous, Dalferes prioritizes her peers, knowing it’s a collective effort to pull off a performance.
“And [I] make sure the people around me are well prepared,” Dalferes said, “If we’re not all collectively ready to do everything right, [the performance] won’t go well.”
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Though her extra responsibilities as president do take up a little more time, Dalferes doesn’t mind one bit! She’s been singing in school choirs since she was in second grade, and her love for it has only grown in high school. The feeling of being surrounded by friends and making music together fills Dalferes with joy.
“I just like that sense of community we all get, like when all of our voices blend together, it makes me feel really happy,” Dalferes said.
One of her favorite things about the choir is their wide range of music styles. According to Dalferes, many students assume that the choir only sings classical music, but that’s not the case! Some of Dalferes favorite songs have been contemporary pieces. She loves exploring this wide range of styles through the instruction of Ms. Fountain.
” I think a lot of people are under the impression that choir is a lot more structured than it is… like, ‘Let’s go sing Beethoven,’ and that’s really not what we do,” Dalferes said, “It’s a lot less ‘nerdy’ than people think it is. It’s a lot more fun.”
Choir is a female dominated group at school with only a few male members. Dalferes feels that sometimes the girls’ talent is overlooked because there are so few boys in the choir that they are highly valued. But despite this, she loves being surrounded by a group of talented, supportive, diverse women. Every girl has a different voice, but they’re all friends.
“All our voices are so different, and yet we have so much in common, so it’s nice to just see it all blend together and feel like a little family,” Dalferes said.
Patty Lunsford
The Zachary High theater department is praised regularly for its incredible productions. After every show, the audience floods the lobby of the VPAC, cramming in to talk and take pictures with each of the student actors. But very little appreciation or even thought is given to the crew working behind the scenes. This crew has been led by Stage Manager Patricia (Patty) Lunsford (12) for the past three years, and without her the show literally could not go on.
Lunsford joined non-performance theater her freshman year because she wanted to get to know the theater without performing on stage. The non-performance class often helps to prepare for upcoming plays and musicals, assisting with the set and props. It was here that Lunsford discovered her passion for technical theater.
“I start teching [the plays], and I fell in love with it! It was just so cool to see the show come together,” Lunsford said, “I just fell in love with making the show happen for kids [and] audiences.”
For the past three years, Lunsford has been the “big boss backstage,” as she calls it. She’s responsible for helping the director pick the crew, calling the show, instructing the crew backstage, fixing problems as they arise, and ensuring that the play runs smoothly. It can be overwhelming and time consuming, but Lunsford’s passion drives her to continue working even when she feels exhausted.
“I’ll be working during class, after school, sometimes I’ll just stay the whole day and work on stuff,” Lunsford said, “It is a lot of sacrifice, but it’s a good sacrifice. At the end of the day, it’s fun, but there’s a lot that goes into it.”
More than anything, Lunsford loves working with people. She’s a natural born leader, so when it comes to managing a team, she’s in her element. Being able to solve problems, communicate with others, and oversee a production are her favorite things about being stage manager.
“I don’t even care what the shows are, like if I hear that it’s a Shakespeare show, I’m like ‘Hey, put me in it,’ even though Shakespeare’s not my favorite… it’s just fun to work with people honestly,” Lunsford said.
Evelyn Vargas (12)
Evelyn Vargas (12) uses art as a form of expression, not just as a recreational activity. Vargas joined talented art in fifth grade. She had always enjoyed drawing, and she was pretty good at it, so she wanted to improve her skills and explore new forms of art. The talented art teacher at Zachary High, Lauren Connerly, has certainly helped Vargas do that!
“I think [drawing] is just my passion but, like, in talented art you get to experiment with way more than just drawing, like painting, sculpting, things like that,” Vargas said.
Her favorite project that she’s made thus far was a “surreal self-portrait” in sophomore. The students could use any medium (material) they wanted, and Vargas chose to use watercolor. The painting showed a portrait of Vargas with her eyes covered, which was meant to symbolize hiding herself from the world.
“It was, like, this painting of me, and surrounding it [was], like, framed insects. And then… it was me in the middle, and I had butterflies on my eyes, and it was supposed to represent, like, me masking myself in a way,” Vargas said.
Vargas tries to incorporate a deeper message into every piece of art she creates. By focusing the art around a center message, Vargas feels more people can connect with it. Different people may even interpret the piece in different ways, leading to discussions about the piece.
“I think [making art with a message] is important because everyone has their own story, and there’s different ways to portray that, so a [big] theme I do [is] anxiety,” Vargas said.
