BRIGHT FUTURES — Daisy Obregon ready to graduate PNG stage for bigger life roles

Published 12:30 am Tuesday, January 11, 2022

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PORT NECHES — Daisy Obregon has tackled many a role, from portraying the loveable Jovie in Elf Jr. and the laugh-out-loud Olaf in Frozen Jr. to the conniving villain Milady in Three Musketeers and the old Southern woman Mrs. Peacock in Clue the high school edition.

Her favorite thus far has been from the production of Descendants: the Musical and her role as Maleficent.

She donned the headdress made famous in the Disney movies and belted out a solo as one of the villains of the show.

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“It was my favorite because I was singing and dancing and got to see the kids after the show say, ‘oh my gosh you were so scary,’ or, ‘you were so pretty,’” Obregon said.

The senior at Port Neches-Groves High School is a fourth-year theater student who’s looking to major in musical theater or theater in college.

Her talent speaks for itself. She attended a Thespian Festival in November, where she auditioned for various colleges and received 14 callbacks. She was accepted to two: College of the Mainland in Texas City and Lamar University in Beaumont.

Others require another audition to move forward toward acceptance, she said. While undecided at the moment, she would love to attend Sam Houston State University for musical theater.

Also, at the Thespian Festival she sang and qualified for nationals to be held in the Midwest this year.

Theater director Melissa Eyles said it has been a pleasure working with Obregon for the past four years.

“As an underclassman, Daisy worked diligently to learn production skills, while at the same time she continued to improve in her stage and singing skills,” Eyles said. “Daisy’s hard work earned her exciting roles in musicals and plays these last two years, and I anticipate with her work ethic and drive she will go as far as she desires in the field of theatre.”

Obregon is an all around strong student who is a member of the Key Club National Honor Society, Thespian Board and has worked with Special Olympics.

Lauren Hanratty, Special Olympics coach at the high school, has seen Obregon build positive relationships with special needs students.

“She encourages them, cheers them on and helps give them confidence,” Hanratty said. “She has a very high spirit and enthusiastic personality. Her ability to form a positive connection with anyone and everyone will enable her to have a bright, successful future.”

As part of Key Club, members take part in community service projects, and Obregon has been part of the group that bought gifts for Blue Santa, helped out the South East Texas Food Bank and also worked the concession stand for the theater.

The thespian also uses her skills at her church by working the soundboard and Facebook Live for first United Methodist Church Port Neches. In fact she can take on just about any theater task. She knows soundboard, some light board, has worked pageants and dances and been a stage manager.

She calls it being versatile.

“If Ms. Eyles needs me, she’ll put me somewhere,” she said.

But it all goes back to the stage for Obregon. Theater has taken her out of her comfort zone and allowed her to take the stage.

While not an extrovert, she is not as shy as she was before theater entered her life.

And she loves to sing.

“I would hear artists on the radio and am like hum, I want to do that and so I’ll be belting Adele like … I’ll just be singing,” Obregon said. “Even on the playground in fifth grade, I’d be like, ‘guys you want to hear me sing? like a weird kid.”

Theater students are now preparing for UIL One Act Play. The cast list came out after the holiday break and the senior will take on four roles in Distracted by Lisa Loomer — a doctor, a teacher, a nurse and a waitress, she said.

Daisy Obrego is the daughter of Yoana Obregon and Enrique Obregon. Her sister is Yailine Obregon, who is in the Navy, and brother is Edwin Obregon, who recently graduated form Lamar State College Port Arthur.