By Betty Morales Bravo, Staff Writer

Moving heavy equipment, performing in the back of the ensemble, even lifting up his fellow actors – Angel Lopez-Perez knows that every small job makes a big difference in the success of a show.

By trying new activities to figure out his interests, Lopez-Perez was able to find his passion in acting. The freshman decided to audition for the play “Elf” in the seventh grade, which he described as a very unique and nerve-wracking experience.

“I was thinking to myself, ‘Maybe I should start acting to have a change in my life,’ ” Lopez-Perez said. “That’s when I started and fell in love with acting.”

Even by getting a small role in the ensemble for his first play, Lopez-Perez was still excited to be part of something new. He never felt as if his role was small or useless; he thought that every single role matters and put in all his effort.

“An ensemble brings the play to life, for everything – the music, the dances and all,” Lopez-Perez explained.

He enjoys working with his peers and likes receiving advice on his acting, especially from teachers like Lauren Deal. She is the co-director of the plays and musicals at FFHS.

“Angel came in and was automatically happy with whatever part he got,” Deal said. “He’s never seemed disappointed in anything. Especially for a freshman, he always keeps a really positive attitude.”

In the fall play “Peter Pan and Wendy,” Lopez-Perez played the role of Bill Jukes. In the recent spring musical “Mamma Mia!”, he sang and danced in the ensemble, but also helped behind the scenes before show day.

Out of all the things that go into theater, what he appreciates the most is working together with his peers.

“Something that I enjoy in theater is having friends that actually understand you on acting and having relationships with the other actors,” Lopez-Perez said.

Freshman Ariel Coughlin is one of Lopez-Perez’s friends in the cast and enjoyed working with him during “Peter Pan.”

“He makes acting really fun, so it’s always fun to hang out with him,” Coughlin said. “He’s very enthusiastic and he is always ready to get into action.”

When Lopez-Perez isn’t spending time with his friends, he’s getting ready for his time on stage; however, one of the hardest things for theater for him is memorizing his lines.

“If I could change anything, I think it would be practicing more on my scripts so I can get better,” he explained.

On stage, Lopez-Perez always tries his best so that everything goes as planned. Putting a lot of extra effort into the plays and musicals really helps the performance come to life.

“He works really hard, he is not afraid of a challenge and when we ask him to do something that seems unusual or he’s never done before, he’s always ready to try it,” Deal said.

Lopez-Perez explained how he is always nervous when on stage, but he knows that everything will be perfect in the end because of all the practice time.

“I feel nervous because I’m presenting to a whole stage and a whole lot of people. But I usually feel nervous and happy. After we have done everything, it’s always worth it,” Lopez-Perez said.

Sophomore Betty Morales Bravo can be reached at 25moralesbe41@daretolearn.org.