“Are you lost?” “Where’s your ID?” is usually what most people ask Alyssa Flores, who’s new to Johnson. But no, she’s not a student. She’s the new theater teacher and a recent college graduate.

Flores has already introduced new ideas to the theater department, including a musical. “Annie Jr.” will be the first musical at JHS, and its goal is to bring more kids to the program. 

“My goal is definitely to make sure people know that I’m here,” Flores said. “You’re trusted in the theater department, you can say things with confidence, you can share your opinions, and we will listen and be respectful of that.”

Auditions for Annie Jr. are Thursday, at 4:20 p.m.. The audition must have a minimum 30 second backing track, accompanied by a song to perform, and auditioners will only be allowed a cold reading. 

“I’m excited about the play she just announced,” sophomore Scarlett Teague said. “I think that a musical will be a good thing to get our program out there and more on people’s minds.”

In addition to the musical Annie Jr. happening this fall, Flores is planning for the children’s show, Crywolf, and the annual Senior Direct festival to be presented around April or May.very student is allowed to audition, even if they aren’t in the theater department. The only show unavailable to non-theater kids is the UIL One Act Play show, Rabbit Hole, which is only for the Theater Production class. 

“With the play she had picked, I looked it up, and it seems really interesting,” International Thespian Society president Tristen Aviant said. “I have faith in her that she’s going to help us push to the next level.”

The drama club is also on the lookout for new members. Drama club goes in depth, in a fun way, outside of theater class. The club is hoping to host many parties and game nights. 

“Whoever wants to join drama club is always welcome to do so,” Flores said. “If you want to pull up to a meeting, that would be so fun and I want you to participate.”

Flores took theater class, like many other high school students, for the credit but it eventually became super important to her. 

“It made my day, week and my month,” Flores said. 

It also helped that her theater teacher was someone she looked up to significantly. 

“She was like a second mom to me and took care of me a lot, making sure I was getting stuff done,” Flores said. “She’s the reason I went to college. She drove me an hour and a half to an audition and I got into the program, full ride.”

After attending Wharton County Junior College, Flores received her teaching certificate from Texas State University.

“I thought, ‘Well, if I already wanted to be a teacher, I do really like theater and I have this important lady in my life. I’d like to be that lady to other people,’” Flores said.

She learned about Johnson when she spent a whole semester as a student teacher at Barton Middle School and Hays High School. This year will be Flores’ first year teaching. 

“I went to a really small high school, so this is bigger than my dreams could ever imagine,” Flores said. “I also love the students and the community here. I’m getting a bunch of different types of kids and it’s really fun to work with [them].”