FBISD Students Among National Qualifiers, Award Winners at Texas Thespian Festival


Seventy-eight Fort Bend ISD students have advanced to the National Thespian Festival after qualifying at the Texas Thespian Festival held in Grapevine, Texas last month.

The FBISD students received honors at the annual event, which includes students from high school theatre programs from across the state.

The national event will be held in Indiana in June 2023. The FBISD students who qualified for the national competition include:

Austin High School

Travis Blanks (Solo Musical)
Xitlali Chavez-Aponte (Monologue)
Anissa Gentry (Costume Design)
Christian Lema (Monologue)
Isabel Salyers (Monologue)
Isabella Tinnin (Costume Construction)
Amelia Vandiver (Solo Musical)

Bush High School

Abisola Adebowale, Nayeli Aguilar, Okwukwechi Bekee & Tyrie Wallace (Group Acting)
Sloan Arrey & Chiamaka Igwebu (Duet Musical)
Theresa Ezeani & Angel Harris (Duet Acting)
Thomas Harris IV & Hailee Davis (Duet Acting)
Nemo Lewis (Solo Musical)
Marjorie Kalule (Monologue)
Sean Stegall (Solo Musical)
Khari Whitmore & Andres Gamboa (Duet Acting)

Clements High School
Abigail Anderson (Monologue)
Emily Cox (Solo Musical)
Savannah Farmer (Theatrical Marketing)
Emma Kuo (Solo Musical)
Alyssa Serrano & Tara Swasey (Duet Musical)
Andy Wu (Monologue)

Dulles High School
Dior Beatty (Sound Design)
Natalie Brunello (Stage Management)
Jayla Cork (Solo Musical)
Nat Festari (Stage Management)
Avery Lowe (Theatrical Marketing)
Elizabeth Mallory (Hair and Makeup)
Tyler McCoy (Lighting Design)
Missy Seriki & Chloe Arceneaux (Duet Acting)

Elkins High School
Kira Holmon (Solo Musical)
Annabelle Jackson, Adam Sayed-Mendez, Justice Le, Diya Mantena & Noemi Orlandi (Group Acting)
Isabella Torres (Solo Musical)
Meadow Votis (Solo Musical)
Hightower High School
Alexa Castaneda (Solo Musical)
Yazmin Gomez & Jerome Johnson (Duet Musical)
Sarah Praxedes (Monologue)

Kempner High School
Raine Broussard (Stage Management)
Isabella Fish (Solo Musical)
Lulani Maya (Solo Musical)
Viet Nguyen (Scenic Design)
Sameer Siddiqui & Kajal Shah (Duet Acting)
Miles Tanner & Faraz Mobli (Duet Acting)

Ridge Point High School
Erin Brogan & Patrick Cashion (Duet Musical)
Patrick Cashion & Toriana Smith (Short Film)
Alexandra DeMaris & Reese McGrenera (Duet Musical)
Megan Edwards (Solo Musical)
Lucia Gomez (Costume Design)
Miles Menendez (Stage Management)
Nicholas Pizzuti (Monologue)
Terrance Saenz (Solo Musical)
Moises Ramos (Solo Musical)
Esperanza Velasco (Solo Musical)

Travis High School
Gracen Barrett (Solo Musical)
Malcolm Farrar (Solo Musical)
Ashley Gilberg (Solo Musical)
Delaney Miller (Monologue)
Tyler Mok (Theatrical Marketing)
Michael Quintanilla (PlayWorks)
Jayden Reyna (Stage Management)
Xander Schoenberger (Monologue)

Two FBISD students – Jayla Cork and Isabella Fish – were asked to perform at the festival’s closing ceremonies, the highest honor for student attendees. Click on the following links to view their performances: Jayla Cork and Isabella Fish.

In addition to these accolades, FBISD students received several festival awards and scholarships, including:

Thespian Scholarships

Bush High School
Theresa Ezeani
Sean Stegall

Clements High School
Kavni Shah

Kempner High School
Sameer Siddiqui

Mainstage Play Awards

Austin High School
Featured Technician – Anissa Gentry

Ridge Point High School
Best Actress – Grace Williams
Best Cameo – Kambel White
Best Lighting – Katie Bland
Best Makeup
Best Set

All Star Troupe Award – Travis High School

All Star Improv Cast Members – Amaka Chinago (Dulles High School), Annabelle Jackson (Elkins High School) and Sophia Zapata (Clements High School)

Texas Thespian Advocacy Network Student Ambassador – Carson White (Ridge Point High School)

Lip Sync Challenge – 2nd Place – Demitri O’Day, Orion Ajagunna, Percy Manning and Raz Merano (Travis High School)

Lip Sync Challenge – 3rd Place – Meadow Votis (Elkins High School)