The students of the Westfield High School Theatre Department are celebrating a 3rd Place win in the statewide 2022 UIL Division 6A One-Act Play Contest. After progressing through an increasingly competitive series of contests at the UIL District, Bi-District, Area and Regional levels – with the student actors and technicians earning an armload of awards along the way – the troupe was officially named 2nd Runner Up at the UIL One-Act Play Contest meet in Austin on Saturday, May 7, taking the third spot in the statewide finals.

“It’s a tremendous achievement, and we’re so excited and proud of these students and the amazing theater program at Westfield High School,” said Spring ISD Director of Performing and Visual Arts Dr. Joe Clark. “This is the highest that one of our Spring ISD schools has ever placed in the UIL One-Act Play Contest, and it’s a huge accomplishment – for the students, for the school, and for the entire district.”

In addition to the group’s overall third-place win for its entry this year – an adaptation of playwright Dominique Morisseau’s “Paradise Blue” – several Westfield students returned from the state meet in Austin with individual honors as well, including senior Brooke Branch and sophomore Mariah Simon, who both won Honorable Mention awards for acting; senior Fabian Potts, who received the Honorable Mention All-Star Cast award for his performance; and senior Devin Morgan, who won the overall Best Performer award during the state meet for his portrayal of Blue, the play’s title character.

“We have to help set up and put things together, and then also go on stage and perform as our characters and give it all that we have,” Branch said. “It’s really hard, but we’ve been doing it, and we’ve been doing it well, and I’m proud of my people!”

The play, set in Detroit in 1949, follows the story of trumpeter and jazz-club owner Blue and his difficult decision about whether to sell his beloved Paradise Club as Detroit’s Black Bottom neighborhood experiences the tumultuous impacts of gentrification and urban development.

Monet Salone, who directs Westfield’s theater program, selected the play – with its complex fabric of themes and characters – then worked with her students to adapt it for the unique requirements of the UIL One-Act Play Contest, where each production must meet strict time and technical requirements. Each production must be able to be loaded in and broken down quickly by its student cast and crew members as shows travel the state and compete on a variety of stages over the months of the competition.

“I’m over the moon,” Salone said of the win. “I’m overjoyed to see Westfield place 3rd in state, and I’m extremely proud of the kids. It’s a very exhilarating experience.”

For Salone, getting her students back to live performances, without earlier COVID-era requirements such as masks for actors while onstage, has been one of the best parts about producing this year’s show.

“It’s great to do live theater again, and to see UIL back in full swing,” Salone said. “It was a real honor and a pleasure to be on the stage with the people that we were on stage with, to share the stage with so many great theater groups both at the state meet in Austin and during the other stages of this year’s contest.”

Westfield senior Nayley Menendez, who served as the show’s set manager, said the unique aspects of the UIL contest – including mounting the production repeatedly, in a variety of theaters and under a variety of competition circumstances – keeps everyone on their toes and drives students to continually up their game.

“When it comes to traveling, we’re trying to compete to get our Best Tech award, which means everything has to be tied together, all clean and professional,” said Menendez, who won Best Technical Student at this year’s Bi-District meet. “It makes you want to better yourself from the show before, either in acting or tech. Something in you kind of sparks when you feel like you’re doing a little bit better.”

Potts agreed, adding that Salone, as the show’s director and producer, holds everyone to high standards, pushing them to grow and improve. With graduation just around the corner, he’s sorry to be finishing his time as a member of Westfield’s theater program, but he reflected fondly on the experiences he and his fellow thespians have had, and on the bonds they’ve formed while working together.

“It’s been a blast,” Potts said. “When you’re working with a great cast and a lot of great members of the tech crew, and your director is wonderful, and everything comes together, it kind of makes everything more fun, and it makes you want to come to school and do theater.”

Clark, as director of the district’s performing and visual arts programs, emphasized the fact that achievements like Westfield’s UIL win don’t happen overnight, but instead are the result of dedicated teachers connecting with students and inspiring them to develop their passions and interests over time.

“The theater department at Westfield under Ms. Salone’s leadership is a great example of how our Spring ISD Performing and Visual Arts programs elevate our entire curriculum to new levels and really engage students in the pursuit of excellence,” Clark said. “It’s absolutely wonderful to witness, and we’re just so proud seeing their hard work pay off.”

The awards earned by the group throughout their 2022 UIL run add up to an impressive number of individual and group honors. The full list is included below.

UIL State Meet Awards:

• 2nd Runner up
• Honorable Mention – Brooke Branch for the role of Silver
• Honorable Mention – Mariah Simon for the role of Pumpkin
• Honorable Mention All-Star Cast – Fabian Potts for the role of Corn
• Best Performer – Devin Morgan for the role of Blue

UIL Region Awards:

• Advancing Play (Only 2 chosen to represent at the State Meet)
• All-Star Cast – Brooke Branch for the role of Silver
• All-Star Cast – Mariah Simon for the role of Pumpkin
• Honorable Mention All-Star Cast – Fabian Potts for the role of Corn
• Best Technical Student – Kemarr Taylor
• Best Technical Crew

UIL Area Awards:

• 2nd Place Advancing Play Champions
• Best Performer – Brooke Branch for the role of Silver
• All-Star Cast – Mariah Simon for the role of Pumpkin
• Honorable Mention All-Star Cast – Devin Morgan for the role of Blue

UIL Bi-District Awards:

• 1st Place Advancing Play Champions
• Best Performer – Fabian Potts for the role of Corn
• All-Star Cast – Brooke Branch for the role of Silver
• All-Star Cast – Mariah Simon for the role of Pumpkin
• Honorable Mention All-Star Cast – Devin Morgan for the role of Blue
• Honorable Mention All-Star Cast – Immanuel Poole for the role of P-Sam
• Best Technical Student – Nayley Menendez

UIL District Awards:

• Advancing Play
• Best Performer – Fabian Potts for the role of Corn
• All-Star Cast – Brooke Branch for the role of Silver
• All-Star Cast – Mariah Simon for the role of Pumpkin
• Honorable Mention All-Star Cast – Devin Morgan for the role of Blue
• Best Technical Student – Wendy Garcia
• Best Technical Crew

UIL Zone A Awards:

• 1st Place Zone A Champions
• Best Performer – Brooke Branch for the role of Silver
• Best Performer – Devin Morgan for the role of Blue
• All-Star Cast – Mariah Simon for the role of Pumpkin
• All-Star Cast – Immanuel Poole for the role of P-Sam
• Honorable Mention All-Star Cast – Fabian Potts for the role of Corn
• Best Technical Student – Melany Menendez