Taylor High School Senior Combines STEM with the Arts in Tech Theatre
KATY MAGAZINE NEWS
October 13, 2026
By Natalie Cook Clark
A Katy ISD senior is demonstrating how science, technology, engineering, and math can combine with theatre. For four years, Luca Kuhl has brought innovation to the Mustang Theatre Thespian Troupe 311.
Luca Kuhl is a senior AP student and top of his class. Since his freshman year, he has worked behind the scenes with Mustang Theatre Thespian Troupe 311, running the sound board, programming lights, creating 3D models and designing sets while combining his interests in technology and the arts.
Kuhl is using his interests in satellite imagery and geography to enhance Taylor Theatre’s upcoming production of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.”
“I’m designing projections for the play,” says Kuhl. “Behind the set, there’s going to be a projector that displays a map of where the main character is at all times. I’m figuring out how to get real-world data into a modeling program and how to make the videos to display it for the audience.”
Kuhl said the idea came after reading the script and studying the protagonist, prompting him to consider how technology could help the audience experience the story through the character’s perspective.
His passion for technical theatre goes back as far as he can remember. As a child, he organized plays for his family, and by elementary school, he was editing short films he created with his best friend.
“I can put together my passion for mapmaking and technology with the elements that are already in the play to make the show more than I’ve ever seen,” says Kuhl.
Mustang Theatre Director Sara Blumber says Kuhl has become an invaluable member of the troupe. As an officer, his contributions extend beyond his technical expertise.
“He’s very level-headed,” says Blumber. “In the midst of chaotic teenage theatre kids, he provides the calm that the other kids can feed off of.”
Balancing a theatre leadership position with as many as four AP classes simultaneously has also taught Kuhl lessons in time management, leadership and collaboration. He has learned to meet tight deadlines, navigate conflict and ask the right questions to keep a production moving forward.
“I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is how to have a job and go into the real world,” says Kuhl. “I’ve learned what it’s like to have a boss, and now that I’m leading the design and have a crew, I’ve learned what it’s like to be a boss.”
Kuhl also credits his father with shaping his approach to problem-solving and decision-making, teaching him to consider different perspectives and carefully analyze challenges before acting.
As graduation approaches, Kuhl is considering the University of Texas as well as McGill University and the University of Waterloo in Canada. While he has not decided where he will attend, he knows engineering will be part of his future.
For Kuhl, the skills developed behind the curtain at Taylor High School have offered more than a way to combine his interests in STEM and theatre. They have helped prepare him to take those interests from the stage, past the curtain and into his next chapter.
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