The applause inside Popejoy Hall had barely settled when Mia Lopez Berkson started trying to process what had happened.
Weeks earlier, the recent Organ Mountain High School graduate had been on stage dressed as Scuttle in “Disney’s The Little Mermaid,” throwing herself into the role of an eccentric seabird for laughs. Now she was standing under the lights as the winner of Best Actress at the 2026 Enchantment Awards — New Mexico’s top honor for high school musical theater performers.
Nearby stood fellow Organ Mountain student Troy Ainsworth, who earned Best Supporting Actor for his role as Chef Louis in the same production. Together, the two helped turn Organ Mountain’s theater department into one of the biggest success stories of the state theater season.
For Mia, the stage has been part of life almost from the beginning.
“I’ve been doing theater since I was really young — maybe like 3,” she said.
She grew up balancing dance lessons, voice training and community productions while spending summers at Stagedoor Manor, the well-known theater camp in New York’s Catskills. By high school, performing had become second nature.
Troy’s path was much different. He didn’t seriously begin acting until middle school after moving from Los Lunas to Las Cruces. A friend invited him to join an ACT Children’s Theatre production, where he landed the role of Robin Hood in “The Legend of Robin Hood, Sort Of.”
“And from there, I kind of got the ball rolling,” he said.
Over time, he immersed himself not just in acting, but in stagecraft, costume work and character study. Even in comedy roles, Troy searches for emotional truth underneath the humor. For him, Chef Louis was more than comic relief.
“Chef Louis loves fish. It’s all he cares about is cooking,” Troy said. “He’s obsessed with his craft. And I love that.”
That same attention to character drives the way he thinks about acting.
“In every role I’ve played, I can see a little bit of myself in the character,” he said. “But you also have to realize there’s an exaggeration and a certain sense of whimsy every character has.”
Mia sees performance through a different lens. For her, acting begins with vulnerability and empathy.
“I feel like you just have to be willing to be vulnerable,” she said. “Not embarrassed about it. Just willing to put yourself out there.”
That vulnerability became especially personal last year when she starred in “The Diary of Anne Frank” with Las Cruces Community Theatre. As a Jewish actress performing for audiences that included members of her synagogue and community, Mia felt a deep responsibility to honor Anne Frank’s story honestly.
“It was the first time where I really felt like it was emotionally challenging,” she said. “I wanted to approach the character and do her justice.”
Offstage, that same empathy shapes much of Mia’s life. During high school, she served as president of Organ Mountain’s Best Buddies program, which connects students in general education and special education programs through friendships and activities. The experience helped inspire her interest in education and music therapy.
“I genuinely have the power to make people happy and put out something good into the world,” she said.
This fall, Mia will attend Syracuse University to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in musical theater. Before that, she’ll represent New Mexico this summer at the national Jimmy Awards in New York City, where top student performers from across the country train and perform with Broadway professionals.
“I just can’t believe I’m going to go perform there,” she said.
Troy, who still has another year at Organ Mountain, hopes theater remains part of his future too. While he enjoys musicals, he speaks most passionately about dramatic acting and the possibility of studying Shakespearean performance.
“I want to play characters that are way outside my comfort zone,” he said. “A pauper, a prince, a sailor, a cowboy — just anybody.”
For both students, though, the awards matter less than what theater allows them to give audiences. Troy sees performance as a chance to help people escape the weight of everyday life, even briefly. Mia describes theater as something more communal — a shared emotional experience.
“When you’re there with your cast and the audience, it’s a really unifying experience,” Mia said. “You’re putting emotions and experiences on stage that everyone can relate to. That’s why it’s so powerful.”
