Eva Sanchez, staff reporter
Junior Eva Sanchez is more than excited to begin her second year as a staff member. Her experience with The Shield last year allowed her to grow as a writer and work on her camera skills. Sanchez hopes to write more and capture the stories of many. Overall, she is excited to contribute to the team and challenge herself for the fun year ahead.
![JONES TAKES THE LEAD: Junior Paityn Jones sings alongside co-star Pablo Arteaga in ‘Something to Hold Onto’ during act two of the McCallum Theater’s production of “Between the Lines.” Jones was cast in the lead role of Delilah in early May when auditions for the play were held, and began rehearsing in August.
“This is the longest process I’ve had since I’ve been doing theatre here,” Jones said. “It was so useful not only towards making our show better but for building a stronger connection with our cast.”
The unusually long rehearsal process posed some challenges to cast members, but it was nothing to complain about, according to Jones.
“It was hard because people had less free days and rehearsals began overlapping with events that typically are after we’ve already performed,” Jones said. “However, none of us felt the need to complain because we all equally enjoy being at rehearsals, and we do it because it makes us happy.”
Receiving the lead role came as a surprise to Jones, but she made the most of it and worked for months to prepare for the show.
“This role has definitely been the most challenging role I’ve had in many ways,” Jones said. “I was not at all expecting to play Delilah, so when I got the opportunity, I spent all summer working on it.”
Learning to play a character that was so different from herself in real life was difficult for Jones, as were some of the songs.
“[Delilah's] character is so different from me in real life, so I had to really do my homework on her,” Jones said. “Not only was it hard to act the part, but also to sing it, there were notes in her songs that I had never hit before and didn’t believe in myself to do, but I got to work with all of the wonderful directors on how to reach those hard notes.”
Even with the long rehearsals and difficult songs, Jones is proud of all the work put in by herself and the entire cast to create this year's showing of “Between the Lines”.
“I am so proud of us for putting our hearts and souls into this performance because we truly gave it our all,” Jones said. “Everyone truly deserves their flowers for how talented and special they are.”
Caption by Daniela Di-Capua.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/54913435589_6b54cb1bfe_o-1200x798.jpg)
