On Nov. 16, theater students gathered at the Miami Airport Convention Center for an exciting competition, in which they received 7 superiors and 2 excellents.

To prepare, they rehearsed after school everyday for over three weeks, watching countless videos on the musical, and doing a lot of physical training.

“Students were jogging up and down the North stairwell while singing and jogging on the track,” Williams said. “So that they can sing and act for five minutes straight and not appear weak.”

The competition was a success for many of Williams’ students.

Junior Isabella Zuniga performed two monologues, “Dreamhouse” and “Holy Ground,” and won a Superior award for her solo acting.

“It was my first year in theater and I was surprised, but I’m really proud,” Zuniga said. “I’m thankful for my teacher’s guidance and my amazing peers.”

Seniors Rachella Scott and Zackary Martin earned a Superior award for their duet musical.

The pair, who are close friends, spent hours after school putting together their choreography and perfecting their vocals.

“I have a deep voice and she has a very warm tone so it was kind of hard mixing those and creating a choreo,” Martin said.

“We had to keep it in the style of the musical so that was kind of a challenge, but we overcame it and got Superior.”

Other top winners included senior Zion Livingston, who received Superior for his solo musical, and junior Jaid Beard, who also earned Superior in the same category. Solo acting awards went to junior Jaylen St-louis, junior Jada Haughton, and Zuniga, all of whom received Superior.

In duet acting, junior Jayla Haynes and junior Jaden Bella-mour earned Excellent. Shar-donay Dailey, another senior, earned Excellent for her solo musical performance.

“I feel super proud of them, this shows that they re destined to do great things, and that if you believe in yourself, then you can achieve greatness,” Wiliams said. “The sky’s the limit.”