BY RICHIE DIETRICH
Only a couple of weeks ago, Isaiah Becerra, 12, took a step into center-stage in hopes of achieving a goal he has had his entire high school career: starring in a high school play. Luckily for him, Becerra was given what he would consider the opportunity of a lifetime: he was given the lead role in the high school’s spring comedy, The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood.
“The first thought that I had when my sister told me that I got the lead was, ‘Dear God, what am I going to do about work?’” said Becerra. “That first week that we were supposed to do read-throughs, I was scheduled from four o’clock to nine-thirty every single night, and I was freaking out.”
In a flurry of emotions, Becerra immediately went to his work and asked his boss whether or not he would be willing to move around his schedule as he was just revealed as the lead role for a school play. Luckily for Becerra, his boss agreed to just that and wished him the best of luck.
While Becerra was given the chance to balance his life on and off of the stage, there were still two things that he had to account for: living up to the role he was given as Robin Hood, and proving his worth to his fellow co-stars.
“[Being the lead role] is a lot to take in,” said Becerra. “I have big shoes to fill, because there are people in this play who have been in many other plays, as well. Like Aaron Uhl, he has been in like eight different shows. How do I live up to someone with that much experience, when this is my first show and I am the lead?”
For Becerra, there are things on the stage that he may feel unprepared for, but his personal love for acting roots all the way from his childhood. With dreams of voice acting in a video game or even a cartoon, he has always had a knack for using his voice in different ways. Because of this, he knows that this is the opportunity of a lifetime.
Becerra’s dreams of being center-stage alongside his determination to be great helps him look forward as he hopes to give as much life to his Robin Hood as he can. However, Becerra’s focus is not on anything except giving it his all, and walking off the stage proud of himself.
“I think [playing Robin Hood] is more about not trying to prove that I am any better than anyone else, but that I can at least live up to the role that I was given throughout this production,” said Becerra. “It is a lot, but all I want to do is my best.”
Becerra is ready to perform to the best of his abilities and leave everything on the stage as he admits that he thinks his performance in Robin Hood will be his first and last play production, ever.
Robin Hood is a story of the titular character, Robin Hood, and his quest to take from the wealthy and give to the poor, all while facing the adversities of being an underdog. However, like many other plays that the high school has done, Robin Hood has its fair share of differences from the original. One difference being that The Sheriff of Nottingham attempts to marry Lady Marian, although, according to Becerra, “Robin Hood is not going to let that happen.”
To see what happens in The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood, join Becerra as he proves himself in the shoes of Robin Hood as the underdog performance of the year. Robin Hood will be held in the PAC on April 25, 26 and 27 and also featuring Lady Marian (played by Jessica Reber), Prince John (played by Joe Muhl), The Sheriff of Nottingham (played by Jeffrey Hutchison) and many others.
