Standing on the drum major’s platform, senior twin sisters Abby and Courtney McDanald pose for a picture. This fall, Abby will attend the University of Texas at Austin to study nursing and Courtney will major in theater education at Stephen F. Austin University. “I was definitely sad about [attending different universities] because we’ve been so close,” Abby said. “Being that far away from someone for a long time will be hard. We didn’t do it on purpose, we just wanted different things in schools. It’s definitely sad, but I think it’ll make seeing her more special.” Photo courtesy of Abby McDanald

At the end of a long Friday full of classes, the girls walk through the cafeteria and split up toward different practice rooms to get ready for their afternoon activities. One changes into a uniform with long sleeves and a hat while the other does her makeup and puts on a wig, both watching the time closely. When the preparation time is up, one gets on a yellow bus and heads to Gupton and the other puts on a costume and makes her way to the PAC, both silently wishing each other luck.

Senior twins Abby and Courtney McDanald have been heavily involved in fine arts programs during their high school career, with Abby in band and Courtney in choir and theater. Courtney will attend Stephen F. Austin University and major in theater education this fall while Abby will attend the University of Texas at Austin and major in nursing.

“[Abby and I] don’t have any of the same classes,” Courtney said. “We do separate activities too, like she does band and I do choir and theater. We don’t really [see each other] at all actually, until we get home. Then, we can collaborate on the same stuff that we’ve been working on in classes.”

Courtney is in Seasons, the school’s acapella singing group, which is part of the combined acapella group, Soundwave. She first started singing in middle school and said she began to take it more seriously as she got older. Now, Courtney is the president of the school choir program.

“Being the choir President means a lot to me,” Courtney said. “I definitely worked really hard to get to this spot, so it’s been really rewarding. It’s been hard on top of my senior year and has made it a lot harder than it would have been, because it’s a lot of work. And I put a lot of effort into many things. But I’m really glad to be the one doing it because I wanted this so bad, and I worked really hard to get here.”

Outside of school, Courtney participates in a musical theater company and takes voice lessons. She has had much success in the theater program and directed the musical “Grease” this year, as well as took a leading role as Mrs. Peacock in the “Clue” play.

“There were moments when [directing Grease] was hard, because directing in front of your peers is a difficult thing,” Courtney said. “But I feel really good about how it went, and I really enjoyed directing. [On the other hand], the set [of Clue] was really cool. Mrs. Peacock is such a funny character and the cast was so much fun. It was just a positive experience overall.”

After finding her love for theater arts through the theater program and doing directing work, Courtney decided to major in theater education after finding a love it through the school’s theater program. In her major, she will be able to participate in plays, musicals and do work behind the scenes.

“Since I’m getting an education degree, I’ll be acting [in university musicals and plays] just for the experience,” Courtney said.

This past year, Courtney competed in the 5A musical competition against other schools in the Austin area. For her performance she was nominated for the Supporting Female award, a highly selective honor that only eight people from around 40 schools receive. 

“They make it a huge deal,” Courtney said. “[After being nominated for Supported Female], I went and performed at the Long Center and did a cute little medley with all the other supporting females. It was a lot of fun.”

The work she has done in the choir program will make it hard to leave, Courtney said.

“Memorable moments [from high school for me] are being in choir, getting into seasons and performing at UIL,” Courtney said. “I’ll miss all the teachers here and the students who I won’t see after high school. I’ll also miss choir and all the friends that I’ve made through it. I probably won’t see many of them after high school.”

When it comes to having a twin in high school, Courtney said it mostly does not affect her and Abby because of how different their educational and social spheres are.

“[Abby and I] are complete opposites,” Courtney said. “We do completely different things. We are completely different people with different personalities, so we respond differently to different things. There are moments where she’s more outgoing, and I’m not. And then there’s moments where I’m more outgoing and she’s not. We have different friends, different activities.”

While Courntey is more involved in choir and theater, Abby has worked hard in the band program and is in the honor band program, where she plays the oboe.

“Being in honor band makes you one of the musical leaders of the band program because you’re one of the best,” Abby said. “You’re in the top band, so there’s a lot of expectations to do well and be a role model for the younger people to look up to. “The music is harder, and [we] learn music at a faster pace, so you have to be on top of your music and have everything learned. I work really hard on my instrument and practice so that I’m performing well in competitions.”

Abby is also an officer in the National Honor Society program at the school, but said band takes up most of her time and is what is most memorable to her.

“The thing I’ll miss most about high school is definitely band,” Abby said. “It’s taught me so many things, more than just music, but [how to] be a leader and work hard. It has provided such a great community for me. All my friends are in band. And the directors, I love them so much. Making music with people and sharing a similar passion is such a cool experience. We all go through the marching season together and get really close. I know like in college, that’s not really something I’m going to have again.”

Although she is going to major in nursing, Abby said she plans on auditioning for a musical ensemble at UT.

“I think [joining an ensemble] would be a good idea to keep playing my instrument to give me some sort of outlet besides school and homework,” Abby said.

According to Abby, having a twin sibling in high school has been reassuring and useful, as the two can help one another in classes and lean on each other when they need to.

“I think having a twin in high school is cool because you have someone that you’re really close with going through the same exact things as you and hitting the same milestones,” Abby said. “We’re very close, and we’re both pretty hard working. Courtney has the biggest heart ever. She’s so sweet and patient with people, which is not at all like me. I’m very impatient, and need things done. [We have] a good balance.”

Downsides to having a twin sister are similar to that of having a sibling, Abby said. The two have arguments and do not get much to themselves.

“When I was younger I probably [wished I wasn’t a twin] because you do have to share a lot of things and it can be a little frustrating,”  Abby said. “But it’s like a built-in best friend. We fight pretty often just because we’re always near each other. It’s hard not to. We’ve never had a big fight that would ruin our relationship. Just fights over stupid stuff. Because she takes the longest showers in the world. You should put that in the article.”

One memorable moment for both of them was when Courtney took Abby’s drum major position and conducted at the band’s parent marching night.

“At the band’s parent night, I took Abby’s place as drum major, even though it was really the parent who was supposed to take her place,” Courtney said. “That was just really funny; I messed up because I’m really bad at rhythm.”

Although they will be attending school hours away from one another, the twins will keep in touch and develop a phone call schedule once they are settled into their colleges.

“I was definitely sad about [attending different universities] because we’ve been so close,” Abby said. “Being that far away from someone for a long time will be hard. We didn’t do it on purpose, we just wanted different things in schools. It’s definitely sad, but I think it’ll make seeing her more special.”