Dressed in a black sweatshirt and baggy brown pants, McKenzie Cahill stood stark still as she belted out “To My Angels” from the musical “SuperYou,” her voice a poignant mix of vulnerability and powerful emotions.
Then, for her next song, she flung the sweatshirt aside to move about freely as the menacing nanny Miss Andrew singing “Brimstone and Treacle” from “Mary Poppins.”
The two numbers embodied the personal story and the theatrical command that earned her the vote for Artist of the Year.
“Amazing” was the word used by one of the judges to describe both the powerhouse voice and the driving force behind Cahill’s artistry.
There was something about the 18-year-old senior from Capistrano Valley High that stayed on the mind of Sara Guerrero, a founder and artistic director of Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble.
A lot of students, Guerrero noted, go through personal issues similar to those Cahill faced down — being called the “N” word and egged in predominantly white south Orange County for her mixed-race background, and feeling helpless in defense of her younger sister, bullied in middle school for her sexual orientation.
For students like Cahill, Guerrero said, “Art has allowed them to find their voices.”
Cahill spoke about how she connects the song “To My Angels” — and such lyrics as “There’s nothing I see that’s divine/And I’m waiting for some little sign” — to that trying time when her sister suffered intense harassment by her peers. Cahill went so far as to contact school administrators herself in seeking a stop to the bullying.
Then during her junior year in high school, she put all her anger and passion into the role of the cruel Miss Andrew in “Mary Poppins.” That year, she said, was the hardest for her sister. Things are better now, but Cahill couldn’t help tearing up when talking about it, as she admitted also doing during her interview for New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she was waitlisted.
Cahill has earned accolades that include the OC Cappies Best Vocalist and the JRAY Featured Actress awards for her 2023 roles of Miss Andrew and Birdwoman in her school’s production of “Mary Poppins.”
Her teacher, Emily Tucker, described Cahill as “an outstanding vocalist, actress and dancer. A true triple threat.”
Actually, quadruple. She’s excelled as a student director this year, Tucker added.
Asked what her dream role might be, Cahill began naming lead characters from “Wicked” and “Hadestown” but then paused and declared, “Any character in any Broadway show ever.”
Theater finalists
In addition to Artist of the Year, the judges selected finalists from among the 16 Theater semifinalists for their singing, acting and technical art skills.
JD Cavalluzzi, Division 2: Cavalluzzi decided on taking a class in theater design at El Dorado High in Placentia because his best friend was going to and, what the heck, Cavalluzzi needed the credit. He found his calling. He’s designed props for seven shows, including doggie string puppets for “The Book of Dog.” Cavalluzzi, 17 and a junior, impressed the judges with his sophistication.
Ava DeVoe, Division 1: DeVoe started with film acting when she was 6. She’s had TV roles on “Grey’s Anatomy” and “This Is Us.” Stunt training is coming up this summer: “I’m so excited about the idea of jumping off a building.” A senior at Orange County School of the Arts, DeVoe, 17, plans to attend the Creative Producing program at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. “I want to be that person with all the answers and be the person people come to for those answers.”
Isabella Kim, Division 1: For the roles that she’s taken on since starting in seventh grade at the Orange County School of the Arts acting conservatory, Kim ponders the nature of a character to create a backstory, whether portraying a water spirit in an avant-garde project or Ophelia in “Hamlet.” She wants to know: “Who am I?” “Where did I come from?” “Where do I fit in in this puzzle piece of a story even though I’m a minor character?” Kim, 16, has another year of high school. “Whatever I do in the future, I hope it is theater related.”
Kaya Sparnicht, Division 1: Talent runs in the family. Her sister, Elora, was an Artist of the Year theater finalist in 2023. Kaya Sparnicht, 17, included an original poem “Ode to My First Last Goodbye” in her presentation. Besides her studies as a junior at Orange County School of the Arts, she competes with the Get Lit Player slam poetry group in Los Angeles. Sara Guerrero, the Breath of Fire ensemble co-founder, saw Sparnicht perform her poetry at an OCSA event: “She. Was. Awesome.”
