Published On: June 9th, 2016By Leticia Fehling

Carver High School Theater Students Have Stellar Performances, 1 Thespian Lands Role in ‘Roots’

The magnet campus offers a strong arts program for students with a passion to perform.

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The musical “Hairspray” earned several Tommy Tune Award Nominations. Carver HS and The Kinkaid School collaborated on the production. The troupes took home the Best Choreography award.

[dropcap color=”#888″ type=”square”]A[/dropcap]heater students at Carver High School earned many awards during the competition season such as UIL One-Act Play and Tommy Tune Awards. One student landed a role in HISTORY®’s “Roots.”

Carver‘s UIL One-Act Play production was To Be Young, Gifted and Black: A Portrait of Lorraine Hansberry in Her Own Words. Hansberry is known for writing her 1957 play A Raisin in the Sun. The play made Hansberry the first black author of a show. After her death in 1965, Hansberry’s ex-husband Robert Nemiroff collated her unpublished writings. The play was adapted using Hansberry’s letters, interviews, and journal entries. It was then converted into an equally successful autobiography with the same title.

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A scene from “To Be Young, Gifted and Black.”

The play begins at the start of Lorraine’s life. It highlights her early childhood in a Chicago ghetto. It moves through her college years and then later life. The story includes the creation and inspiration for A Raisin in the Sun. Her journey from Chicago to New York was complicated. But she overcame obstacles to get her play on Broadway. To Be Young, Gifted and Black incorporates fragments of her personal life. It also highlights her involvement in politics. She supported racial and gender equality. Hansberry died at 34 after battling cancer.

Kiera Prusmack

Critics lauded the play when it debuted in 1968. They described the play as fast paced, powerful, touching and hilarious. The kaleidoscope of shifting scenes, mood and images recreates Hansberry’s world. The play weaves through her life experiences and the times that shaped her. The play is a major statement of the American Black experience.

The troupe’s production advanced it through the various stages of competition such as [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]bi-district. At regionals, the Carver thespians earned several awards.

Regional One-Act Play Competition Results

Kyle Ward

Region 3 State Alternate — Young, Gifted and Black
Best Actress — Kiera Prusmack (also won at district contests)
All Star Cast Medal — Kyle Ward
Honorable Mention Medal — Bishop Pearsall
Honorable Mention Medal — Jaela Amos
Best Technical Medal — Ri’Chard Jordan

The theater troupe at [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Carver collaborated with The Kinkaid School to produce Hairspray. This was a large production. Carver had more than 60 students taking part. The two campuses were among the 45 competing in the 2016 Tommy Tune Award season.

Most folks from a certain generation remember the John Water’s 1988 film Hairspray. The musical includes 1960s-style dance music and “downtown” rhythm and blues songs. Set in 1962 Baltimore, the story revolves around full-figured teenager Tracy Turnblad. She dreams of stardom as a dancer on a local TV show.

Bishop Pearsall

When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight. She then meets a colorful array of characters. She soon launches a campaign to integrate the show. Hairspray is a social commentary on the injustices of parts of American society in the 1960s.

The collaboration earned the two troupes a total of [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]10 Tommy Tune Award nominations. Hairspray won the [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Best Choreography Award.

Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) developed the Tommy Tune Awards. The Awards honor musical theater excellence at the high school level. Students and educators throughout the nine-county metropolitan area take part. Houston-based theater professionals made more than 160 nominations this year in 15 categories.

Jaela Amos

It may be summer but the Carver thespians are busy. They will be among the thousands taking part in the [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]International Thespian Festival. The troupe will perform Smokey Joe’s Cafe. The festival is set for June 20-25 at the University of Nebraska. The Carver musical will form part of the series of shows in the Black Box.

Smokey Joe’s Cafe is a musical revue. It showcases 39 pop standards, including rock and roll and rhythm and blues music. The songs were written by songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. There is no unifying theme nor dialogue. Instead various members from the cast present the songs in various combinations. There are novelty songs (Charlie Brown), romantic ballads (Spanish Harlem), and infectious melodies (There Goes My Baby).

A scene from “Smokey Joe’s Cafe.”

The Festival is a one-of-a-kind experience. The Festival features workshops presented by theatre professionals. Students also take part in individual and group performances. Students also have opportunities to audition for college admission and scholarships.

Individuals of a certain age will remember the 1977 mini-series Roots. ABC based its dramatization on Alex Haley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book (1976). Haley was a seventh-generation descendant of Kunta Kinte. The book is a multi-generational exploration of Haley’s family tree. It traversed more than a century of the African American experience. The story chronicles the history of an African slave, Kinte, sold to America and his descendants. The family saga covers the colonial-era slave trade through Reconstruction.

It has been nearly 40 years since the televised series aired. Now, the [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]History Channel created an adaptation of Haley’s “Roots.” It is a new vision for a new generation.

Kirby Jackson

Among the new generation of players in the new adaptation is Kirby Jackson. The sophomore Carver High School theatre student landed the role of “Tabitha.” The History Channel aired the four-part miniseries over four nights (May 30-June 2). The miniseries also aired on Lifetime and A&E.

The public can view the Roots episodes on the [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]History Channel.

Carver has a strong theater program. The thespian group has a history of nominations and winning awards. The program earned nine nominations and four wins in the 2014 Tommy Tune Awards.

The program earned Tommy Tune Awards for the musical production [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]In The Heights. In 2013, the troupe earned 12 nominations, including Best Musical, for The Color Purple. Carver brought home four Tommy Tune Awards for In the Heights and one The Color Purple.

Carver has earned more than 40 Tommy Tune nominations since 2008.

Tommy Tune Award Nominations Since 2008

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A few cast and crew from Carver HS and The Kinkaid School pose at TUTS. The two schools collaborated on “Hairspray.”

[ul class=”list list-search”] [li]Best Musical[/li] [li]Best Direction [/li][/ul][ul class=”list list-search”] [li]Leading Actor[/li] [li]Leading Actress [/li][/ul]

Tommy Tune Wins Since 2008

[ul class=”list list-search”] [li]Best Costumes[/li] [li]Best Ensemble [/li][/ul][ul class=”list list-search”] [li]Best Leading Actor[/li] [li]Best Supporting Actress [/li][/ul][ul class=”list list-search”] [li]Best Supporting Orchestra[/li] [li]Best Choreography [/li][/ul]

Roshunda Jones, Jabari Collins and Sarita Salinas head the production team at Carver. Collins is the technical director. Salinas is dance director and performing arts chair at the magnet campus.