Brazosport Theatrical Design Team Wins UIL Academics and Advances to State
Posted on 03/22/2019
We are so proud of our student-artists UIL (University Interscholastic League) Academic Achievements!
This past weekend nearly 1,000 students from all over the state of Texas competed in five UIL Academic events (Set Design, Costume Design, Hair & Makeup Design, Marketing and Group Design). Of the ten separate submissions in the regional competition, eight Brazosport High School students are advancing to state after receiving an Exemplary rating. Congratulations to Angelica Cabaniss, Naomi Dorsey, Priscilla Garcia, Ciara Long-Cozine, Giovanni Martinez, Race McIntyre, Jimely O’Neill and D’Arian Steamer!
Throughout the academic year each student spent numerous hours (30-100+) on this endeavor in addition to their other academic requirements. These students were also involved in AP Academics, additional extracurricular athletics/activities/events, three major art competitions and other UIL tournaments/events this school year. This long-term, project-based learning process began with students attending the UIL Student Activity Conferences in September and October, and finally led some to their online submissions of their individual portfolio of artifacts/designs and papers in the UIL Theatrical Design Regional Competition.
For each event the students read the play (Charlie & the Chocolate Factory), responded to specific prompts for each event (Set, Costume, Hair & Makeup, Marketing, and Group Design), and after extensive research and finalization of the design processes, the students subsequently undertook a literary analysis of the play and the novel (as well as including aspects of the author’s biography and life’s literary works), and then directly justified their design choices in “Justification papers.” Student's’ final portfolios of work for this competition included preliminary sketches, an inspiration artifact (one per student), final designs (on average 5, and up to 14 individual art pieces per each student) and a justification paper (one per student per event).
Hard work and dedication paid off, and we are so proud of each and every one of our students’ efforts in the competition so far. Last year, the four competing students who went to state set a UIL record with three State Championships and one fifth place medal. The combined efforts won the 4A Theatre Sweepstakes for the entire state. This year Brazosport High School has the potential to bring home even more awards!
A special thank you to teachers April Reck and Anicia Browning for volunteering their time and content expertise helping the students prepare for regional submission by proofreading papers, providing artistic guidance and helping students push past their previous efforts toward success. I would also like to thank all the students, parents, faculty, staff and administration members who have offered their support and encouragement to these students over the past six months as they worked towards the completion of their final project submissions.
Congratulations on your achievements thus far and to all our student-artists.
