She is a cheerleader, an actor, and an acapella member. Evandia Penix has continuously been involved with the drama department and their performances, including everything from the school plays to many acapella and choir concerts. She has been featured in many of the school theatre show such as The Wedding Singer, Almost, Maine, and this year’s production of Sister Act as Deloris Van Cartier, the lead of the show. Although this may be her last performance, she plans on continuing theatre in college.
“I will miss all of the connections in the theatre department,” said Evandia Penix. “We are all like one big family, we all care about each other and how each other feels.”
Penix started her performing career at Guilford her sophomore year when she got a role in The Wedding Singer as a member of the ensemble. She was first inspired to start performing when Seve Morse, senior, convinced her to be a part of The Wedding Singer. This also helped her to continue performing year after year. After that show is when she fell in love with acting and the arts. This year she attended Illinois Theatre Fest at Illinois State University where she went and auditioned in front of multiple college representatives for potential scholarships.
“Theatre fest auditions were very intense, I was extremely nervous about it,” said Penix “However, when I went in I was much more relaxed and made everyone laugh. I ended up getting 23 colleges interested.”
Penix does not just perform for theatre and acapella; she also has been a cheerleader for four years. She manages to balance school handling many classes such as English capstone as well as being in acting and choir classes. With all of her extracurricular activities she has a GPA of 3.3.
“Evandia is passionate and always prepared,” said Synthia Burgess, junior and sound stage manager for Sister Act “She works well with others and is always willing to learn.”
After high school she is looking to attend college and major in musical theatre. Evandia is regarded highly by her other cast members for being highly talented. This has landed her in many of the roles she has performed in.
“Evandia is extremely talented. Her vocal range is spectacular,” said Blake Larys, senior and member of the Sister Act cast. “She has groove and can entertain a crowd with ease.”