By Katherine Ozawa

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A group of MHS students got to relive their middle school experience from March 20 to 22 while performing in the pop-themed musical “13,” directed by MHS alumna Kristi Kashimoto-Rowbottom and put on by Diamond in the Rough Productions (DITR) at the Paliku Theatre at Windward Community College.

“It was really fun, because it was an all-kids show this time. It was a lot more fun more than it was rules and everybody just kind of got close,” said Sophomore Allayna Quiocho, who played the character Kendra.

The play follows the protagonist Evan Goldman after he transitions from one school in New York City to another in Indiana, where he lives with his mother after his parents have divorced. Evan’s main goal is to be a part of the “in-crowd” at his new school and get to know his classmates as the story progresses, including students Brett Sampson and Kendra.

Theater productions often get a lot of attention when people talk about them, and that’s how a few of the actors in “13” heard about the play and eventually got their roles. “It was really fun. I actually knew Nicholas Howe from before because we did Central Theater Arts Academy (CTAA) shows together and I kind of brought him in and I said that he should audition for the show. And also Allayna (Quiocho) and I’ve worked with them before. So, getting together and working so close together was a lot of fun,” said Sophomore Alexandria Ireijo, who was a part of the play’s ensemble.

While performing the play, the actors got to learn valuable lessons in their character’s shoes. “I learned to be a better performer and to be confident in who I am, because the show was a lot of you personally and there wasn’t a lot of direction. It was more self-directed, so being confident in yourself was a big thing,” said Irejio.

As everyone involved in the play each learned something from the musical and the characters involved, they hope that the audience watching the play did too. “I hope that, especially the adults in the audience, learned how much pressure middle school and high school really is and not to take it so lightly, thinking we don’t have as much stress as we really do,” said Ireijo. “The lesson that I hope the audience takes away from the play, going back to the moral, is that you don’t need to be popular to be happy,” added Junior Nicholas Howe, who played Brett, “Your true friends are going to be there for you through thick and thin and if that’s what it is, then that’s what it is.”

Rehearsing and performing the play was tough and demanding work for all involved, but the end product made the sweat and tears worth it. “The difficult part was that we only had two months,” said Howe, “Our tech rehearsal, which is the week before we open, where everything kinda finally comes together, was excruciating because our lead was gone for a couple of weeks and we were at a loss without him and he finally came in on the very last day before we opened and everything came together.”

CTAA has previously worked with DITR on play productions and plans to collaborate again.