Being a freshman at Jesuit High School is a difficult task on its own. Being a freshman and also being an important part of Jesuit Drama is an even more challenging task; just ask Cooper Achondo ‘21, the only freshman member of the cast.

“Once I got the email I was like, this is actually pretty cool,” said Cooper. “It’s impressive that I was the only Freshman from Jesuit who made it.”

But this isn’t Cooper’s first rodeo, so to speak. He’s had some practice beforehand.

“I took two years of drama at Country Day,” said Cooper. “When I first found out I was in the [drama class at Country Day], I was like, oh I’m not gonna like it, but I’ll just do it. And I started to fall in love with it.”

This year’s fall production is about Sacramento’s homeless community and while the play has taught Cooper a lot about our homeless brothers and sisters, the play has also helped Cooper make new friends in Jesuit’s community.

“We’re learning about all these new experiences, just, homelessness,” explained Cooper. “But it’s also been really fun to get to know some of the people and just become a little community.”

Jesuit Drama is led by Jesuit Drama Artistic Director and English Teacher Mr. Ed Trafton. He elaborated on Cooper’s role in the play.

“Cooper is a member of this eighteen person ensemble [but] the emphasis is really on a group,” explained Mr. Trafton.

The play script was written from scratch, and the authors are the actors themselves.

“So Cooper joins a team of eighteen that is doing research,” said Mr. Trafton. “Doing interviews, monologue crafting, scene drafting, script work, and then ultimately putting all that together on the stage and presenting it to our audiences in November.”

One piece of advice that can be taken away from Cooper’s experience is to get involved. No matter how difficult, embarrassing, or weird something might seem, try it, you may be surprised.