“Do me a favor and have yourself a super night.”

Each night as the curtains closed on Cedar Park Theatre’s “Legally Blonde,” one character, dressed in tiny brown shorts and a UPS shirt, said these final words to a standing ovation.

That character, which was known as Kyle, would later be nominated for a Featured Actor award at the Greater Austin High School Musical Theater Awards, or GAHSMTA, and was played by senior Alec Peal.

“I really didn’t expect to get nominated,” Peal said. “My ‘Paulette,’ Amelia Vidrine, texted me whenever they found out, but I was still asleep when they announced the awards. I woke up to a text in all-caps from her that said congratulations, and I was like, ‘There’s no way.’”

Peal said that he enjoyed participating in the GAHSMTA awards ceremony, and that it was cool to be surrounded by so many talented and passionate theatre students.

“I got to see all of their hardcore work,” Peal said. “There are so many talented students in the Austin area, I honestly didn’t feel like I belonged there since it was my first high school musical. It was crazy.”

Despite it being his first musical, that was not Peal’s only musical preparation, because he also participated in Pitch Black, the high school mens choir group. Peal said that this year, the singing groups meant much more to him as a senior.

“I started choir in fifth grade and I’ve been doing it ever since,” Peal said. “But this year, the members of Pitch Black have become like seven new brothers for me. I love them so much and singing barbershop with them has been the highlight of my days as a senior and I’ll miss it a lot.”

Before he was Kyle or a member of Pitch Black, however, Peal was a member of the Cedar Park band’s drumline. Peal said that his passion for music began during both his participation in choir and in the state championship winning band.

“Being in band was a really good experience,” Peal said. “There were some tough times that taught me a lot of lessons on work ethic and how to keep your head up and carry on when things get hard.”

Those tough times, Peal said, consisted of drumline rehearsal in some of the hottest days of the year.

“Summer band was always really mentally and physically exhausting,” Peal said. “Most days, drumline would be outside on the blacktop for eight hours in the sun.”

Those long summer days practicing marching technique and music was worth it, Peal said, because the drumline had to be perfect to make the band work seamlessly.

“I would say [drumline] is the part of the marching band that brings it all together,” Peal said. “Every section of the band is important and we all have our own role. Drumline’s role is to keep the time and keep the show going; it’s definitely an integral part of the marching band.”

Peal said his passion for music, as well as a passion for service, will hopefully help him pay for part of his tuition as he plans to move to Utah to work with the Timpview High School drumline as a drum tech while in college.

“My job will be kind of like an assistant teacher,” Peal said. “I’ll be there to be an extra set of ears to listen and get the drumline to play together more and have a better sound.”

Peal will attend Brigham Young University in the fall to major in computer science and minor in business, and will go on his first two-year church mission trip after his first year, as part of his Mormon faith.  

“I try to not think about where I want to go so I don’t get disappointed,” Peal said. “But I’ve always thought it would be cool to go to London or Barcelona.”