Karina Flores, Emilia Giron-Aguilar, and Julia Tapa rehearse their performance before the play begins.

Over 500 students and community members attended a recent play at Chodl Auditorium: Electricidad was a success!

According to Mr. Lubinus, there were 29 student cast members and 25 crew members in the Electricidad play. According to an AI overview, Electricidad is a modern Chicano version of Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Electra, but it’s set in a Los Angeles barrio, which is a gang-controlled neighborhood. The story focuses on the main character, Electricidad, who becomes obsessed with getting revenge after her mother kills her father, who was a gang leader. The play highlights issues and experiences from the Chicano community in Los Angeles, using Spanglish and local details to make an old story feel new and alive.

Recent data shows that younger audiences (Gen Z and Millennials) are going to plays more often than older people.

“I’m a senior. When I learned I was Electricidad, I felt this excitement rush through me, knowing that I was able to bring someone with so much emotion to life. The most challenging part of the entire production for me would probably be my own emotions. Being with someone so full of resentment and anger takes a toll on a person, but I learned to separate myself from my character and the auditorium. One day during rehearsal, an alumna came to visit. She asked to lay on the altar for the entire duration of the rehearsals, and she ended up falling asleep on it. In the show, there are a lot of intense scenes between some characters. Building relationships, communicating effectively, and asking for third-party advice helped with those scenes to make sure we were comfortable and that the scene felt as intense or emotional as needed. It’s always going to be scary, but it almost comforted me knowing everyone else was just as scared to perform, because then we’re in it together, and we all want to make it a memorable performance,” said senior Morton East student Emilia Giron.

Emilia’s journey shows how acting can be both challenging and deeply rewarding. Her experience highlights the importance of teamwork, emotional balance, and trust in creating powerful performances.

“I’m a freshman. When I found out I got the role of Orestes, I was shocked because it was my first year doing theater at East prior to District 99 productions, and I figured I would get a small role. But the director said Orestes was more major than I thought. The most challenging part was getting into this character, who was the opposite of my actual personality. One of my favorite moments was during tech week when my scene partner, Manny, and I had a fun moment of improv to fill in the time while the director was adjusting and figuring out the lights. Working as a team to get to know each other and get close offstage made the onstage scenes more comfortable for us. On opening night, all that kept going through my mind was to remember my lines and not mess up in front of my friends and family who came to watch. Another thought was to be serious, get into character, and pull off a great show with my new friends,” said freshman Morton East student Pedro Martinez.

Pedro’s story shows how stepping into a challenging role can build confidence and connection. As a freshman, his journey highlights growth, teamwork, and the excitement of new beginnings.

“Hi, my name is Julia, and I’m a junior. When I got the role of Clemencia, I was proud of myself for getting that role because I was able to bring a character to life, and I was excited. The most challenging part of the production was how to get into the emotions of Clemencia. They were tacky, angry, sad, brave, confident, and so many more—but those emotions weren’t me; they were the character’s. It was hard for me to get used to feeling those ways, but as I practiced her emotions and her backstory, I truly felt it in me to really be Clemencia. I think my favorite memory of the play would be when my friends and I would listen to music while getting ready and when we would sing randomly into the mics during our mic checks. Working as a team made me feel closer to the people I didn’t know and made me more comfortable with theater. I felt really scared, but I knew I was able to overcome that fear and get on stage and do the show without any problems,” said junior Morton East student Julia Tapa.

Julia’s experience with the role of Clemencia demonstrates the power of immersing oneself in a character and the support of a team. Her journey illustrates the challenges of bringing a character to life, the importance of collaboration, and the thrill of overcoming fear and succeeding onstage.

“Hi, I’m Nathaly, and I’m a junior who played La Carmen! When I found out I had gotten the role, I wasn’t really shocked because my other two vecinas (Connie and Cuca) and I predicted we were going to get those roles—which ended up coming true—so my reaction was more of being shocked because I predicted it! The most challenging part of the play for me was figuring out how to act out the scenes correctly. I feel like it was kind of hard to get an image of how my character was, but I overcame it by getting an idea from how the three Powerpuff Girls are, and I also watched Hocus Pocus to get more of an idea! There were a lot of funny parts and scenes we had to do, which I feel like were my favorite moments. But a specific time was when we were cleaning Electricidad—we could basically minimize the things we wanted to say while cleaning her, and Ray (La Cuca) said, ‘Huele a mierda,’ and I couldn’t control my laughter. I was kind of laughing while saying my lines afterward. Working as a team really brought the play to what it came out to be because of los vecinos during my scene. If there weren’t vecinos, I feel like the play would have felt plain and boring, and working as a team and getting all their movements together really helped our scenes look more vivid and helped the audience understand the story more. What was going through my mind was probably the test and lab I had to retake at school, but I really don’t remember—other than thinking about the crowd and how they would react to the show! And yeah, pretty much,” said junior Morton East student Yajaira Martinez.

Yajaira’s experience in playing La Carmen shows how collaboration and a sense of community can elevate performance. Her journey highlights the importance of preparation, embracing challenges, and the joy of shared moments and teamwork on and off the stage.

“I enjoyed the play very much. The work that was put into the production was awesome, and I enjoyed the setup of the audience being on the stage. My favorite part was the ending, when the story finally had all the characters together and seeing the dynamics which led to that intense ending. Some funny parts I enjoyed were the grandmother character—the student who played her did a great job being a comedic relief—and the small parts of the boys preparing the brother to become a cholo,” said Guidance Counselor Nereida Rodriguez.

Nereida’s appreciation for the play reflects the talent and dedication of the cast and crew. Highlights of the production, such as the interactive audience setup and comedic performances, showcase the power of teamwork in the arts.

“I am not sure of a total number of attendees; however, I will say that the adapted space only fit 170 and almost ran out of seats three-fourths of the four nights. The cast seemed particularly proud of this show. They got great responses from the audience, and they felt connected to the subject matter. This show was not easy and had very complicated characters. They worked so hard to bring it to life and tell this story with compassion and power. Electricidad is a Chicano reimagining of the Greek tragedy Electra. It is about a woman seeking revenge against her mother for killing her father. Roughly 50 students were in the cast and crew, and many other students worked on the set in Theatre and Carpentry classes. I spoke with the administration and teachers in the Latinx community for insight on how to discuss the issues with students and audiences. I researched this play and its author, Luis Alfaro, thoroughly. All these things helped me create a pre-show speech to discuss how the content is mature and heavy, but we also think the story is important and should be told authentically. This was an unusually smooth run. We usually have some sort of mishap that upends the show, but not this time. The audience reacting so strongly took us by surprise. The seating was very close up, so we could see their shocked faces at some of the play’s more intense moments. One funny thing was that a moment in the show had blue lighting, and it makes bright colors look almost neon, so sometimes an audience member’s shirt would really stand out,” said Theater teacher Tyler Lubinus.

Tyler’s reflection highlights the success of the production, from the cast’s pride in their work to the thoughtfully curated pre-show speech and the immersive theater experience. The support and collaboration with the school community, as well as the unique seating arrangement, added to the overall success of the show, creating a meaningful and memorable performance for both cast and audience alike.