On March 1, Cy Creek’s thespians will debut their rendition of George Orwell’s “1984” as their UIL competition show.

Sophomore Gage Campbell will star as male lead Winston Smith.

“The character – his whole thing was the doesn’t feel – trust – anyone,” Campbell said.

The female lead, Julia, will be played by junior Katherine Nguyen.

“At her core, I feel like she just wants to be a woman, like a classic 1960’s woman,” Nguyen said.

Although Campbell finds the play lots of fun and very exciting, he said he’s also nervous. “1984” will be Campbell’s first male lead role, so to deal with his stress, Campbell said he turns to trusted friends for support.

“I’m very excited about the play,” Campbell said. “The competition aspect of it all, it’s very stressful, but I love it. It’s going to be fun.”

Meanwhile, Nguyen feels she has something to prove her new lead role. Although she’s been cast in previous productions including “Clue” in 2021 and “She Kills Monsters” earlier this year, “1984” will be Nguyen’s first lead role.

“I feel like I have to prove that the directors made the right choice and that they can count on me,” Nguyen said.

Like her co-star, Nguyen also experiences stress and anxiety leading up to the show.

“You have your cry sessions and then you move on, [you] get back up on your feet,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen has been involved in Creek’s theatre community since her freshman year and she has gotten to know her directs and cast members well. Nguyen said she and Campbell were friends prior to being cast together in “1984,” which includes a kiss between characters Winston and Julia.

“Katherine’s a lot of fun,” Campbell said. “We have a very good friendship to begin with, so now the only thing that has been added is a kiss.”

Ultimately, Campbell and Nguyen say they are excited to share this production with the audience.

“The audience can look forward to amazing technical aspects and amazing acting and amazing plot twists,” Campbell said. “There’s a lot of twists and turns.”