Woodlawn Theatre Department to Present Virtual Production, Help Desk

Woodlawn Theatre Department to Present Virtual Production, Help Desk

Woodlawn High School’s Theater 3 Class will present a virtual production of the play Help Desk. Help Desk was written by Don Zolidis. The hilarious comedy details the problems that arise when you call the help desk. Although you’re looking for a solution when you call the help desk, your problems may just be beginning!

Katelynn Johnson performs her part in Help Desk.

Tickets to the play can be purchased beginning Monday, May 3rd for $8 through the Woodlawn High website. Those who purchase the production online will receive a link to the play via email and will be able to watch the play from the comfort of their own home. While students and parents are encouraged to use their credit or debit cards and purchase the link online, students may stop by the theater to pay in cash if they would like. Students paying with cash must provide an email address when purchasing so that they can receive the link.

The Theater students have worked very hard over the last two months. The production features a collaboration between virtual and in person students in the class and was filmed using Zoom.

“I am extremely proud of the hard work that the students have put in to make this production happen during such a challenging year,” said Ms. Leonard-Brubaker. “Performing with someone who isn’t in the same room with you is difficult for even the most seasoned performer, and these kids really pushed themselves to overcome that challenge and produce a really funny show.”

The cast of Help Desk features Jasmine Gray, Joshua Robins, Braeden Hodges, Yezeed Manna, Jason Delcid, Jianna Ross, Alyric Alexander, and Katlynn Johnson.

Godspell Jr. to Hit Woodlawn Stage

Godspell Jr. to Hit Woodlawn Stage

The Woodlawn High School Theatre Program will be presenting Godspell Jr. on Thursday, March 26th. Boasting a score with chart topping songs, Godspell Jr. is a sensation that will touch audiences.

A group of disciples help Jesus Christ tell different parables by using a wide variety of games, storytelling techniques, and a hefty dose of comic timing. An eclectic blend of songs, ranging in style from pop to vaudeville, are employed as the story of Jesus’ life dances across the stage. Dissolving hauntingly into the Last Supper and the Crucifixion, Jesus’ messages of kindness, tolerance, and love come vibrantly to life.

A school performance will be presented during 2nd period and an after school performance for friends and family will be offered at 6 pm that evening. Tickets are $2 for the school performance and $5 for the evening performance.

Culture Club Provides Stage for Talent

Culture Club Provides Stage for Talent

These kids, man. These kids.

These kids are amazing. And we didn’t recognize it. Not soon enough, at least. Not until they were almost gone. Luckily for us, Tarquin Kenner came around.

Kenner, a 24-year old paraprofessional at Woodlawn High School, brought an idea from his alma mater, Destrehan High School, to his new profession at the south Baton Rouge school. He came to coach football, but quickly saw something that so many others did not see.

He saw talent. He saw students that needed a platform. He decided to give it to them.

Kenner chose to sponsor the Culture Club. The idea came from the St. Charles Parish high school which he called home for four years. After getting permission from administration to start the club, he reached out for help. Malakah Hawkins, a social studies teacher, was up for the challenge.

With the help of Hawkins, Kenner began recruiting students.

“This was something that I decided to do based on what we did at Destrehan High. I felt that it was a positive influence on my life, and it was something that I could pass on to the younger generation,” explained Kenner. “It wasn’t easy at the beginning. Kids didn’t really want to be a part of it. ‘What’s that? What are we going to be doing?’ I heard all the excuses in the book. But then, Jeroderick bought in, and he was able to bring more people into it.”

Students perform as part of “Cypher’s Corner” during the opening of Blurred Lines.

Jeroderick Allen is an 18-year old senior at Woodlawn. Allen had been at Woodlawn since his freshman year, but had nothing to look back upon fondly. He saw Kenner’s plan as a way to change this. Allen was asked what he saw in Kenner that made him want to be a part of the Culture Club

“I saw a vision that would allow us to bring something to Woodlawn,” Allen said. “Coach brought the idea to us, and I was like, ‘Yea, it’s going to be a good move for Woodlawn, period. This club could be a positive influence on students here. It could change the way that others look at us.’ The whole vision of seeing talent come together and doing good things, that’s what I really told people about to get them involved and draw them in.”

The formation of the Culture Club was just the beginning. The group began having sporadic meetings. Kenner quickly found students that he became close to. These students are now the heart of the club.

The step teams came next. They quickly spawned from the Culture Club. The Suave Kings and the Alluring Queens, collectively known as the Royal Panthers, were born. Practices began after school in November. Lunch performances came next, followed by halftime shows at basketball games and a performance in Woodlawn’s Fine Arts program, “All the World’s a Stage.” Kenner and the Royal Panthers began thinking about their next step.

“Once the Royal Panthers began performing in public, I decided that maybe they were ready for a bigger performance. Members of the Culture Club also started coming to me about a program for Black History Month,” described Kenner.

The Suave Kings step during Blurred Lines.

Members began discussing the idea of a performance at one of the now regular meetings. The idea was brought to Mr. Stevens, Woodlawn’s principal. After he agreed to the plan, the group got to work. Blurred Lines was born.

Allen expounded on the genesis of Blurred Lines.

“Everyone brought something to the table,” he said. “The program made sense being that February was coming up. It was little bits of everybody. Ms. Hawkins and Coach Kenner brought everyone together, and the program belonged to everybody. It was a whole team.”

Sure, the Culture Club was ready to produce the show. But would this be enough? Could the students convince others to join?

“Most of us that performed today were Culture Club members, but we had to get some other students to help out with the production,” said Keon Simmons, a 17-year old senior at Woodlawn High. “Trevon (Hardnett) was one of the first we got to commit to the program.”

Simmons and other Culture Club members reached out to friends that they knew had talent.

“Everyone here has some type of talent, and we wanted to put as many people as we could into the program to show off all of our talents,” Simmons said. “We just knew we needed to put them together.”

Hardnett was approached, but was skeptical.

Kerrington Hill “proposes” to Briana Jacob as part of the Fashion Show during Blurred Lines.

“Right off the bat, I didn’t think it was going to turn into much,” Hardnett explained. “I wasn’t ecstatic about doing it. I was happy they reached out to me though. They came to me, and asked me to help, so I was happy that they gave me a chance to do something with them.”

Hardnett did not know what his contribution to the program would be. This changed one day after school, when he and Alton Morgan, another 18-year old senior, were “vibing out in class.” Simmons and Morgan had previously worked together, and knew they wanted to perform together in front of the school. It wasn’t until Morgan and Hardnett began singing that day that their performance started to come together.

“Trey and I started bouncing ideas, and he started singing this hook, and I was like, ‘Yea, I like that, I can write to that,’” explained Morgan. “We matched. So I presented the idea to Keon, and he was like, ‘We can put a band behind it.’ So we decided to do a whole live performance.”

Simmons knew exactly where to go from that point. He approached Meshak Muyaka, a 17-year old junior in the Woodlawn band. Muyaka quickly got other members of the jazz band, the Smooth Purple Groove, to join the project. Treyln Miller, a 19-year old senior, was recruited to play the drums. Brennan Burleigh, a 16-year old junior, played bass, and Cody Coleman, an 18-year old senior, played guitar. Muyaka played piano. The group was ready to perform.

Muyaka wrote the music, mainly by just listening to Morgan and Hardnett. Once he heard the melody, he says it was easy to create the chords.

At a practice, Allen heard the group performing, and says the vibe just fit. He joined the group, playing the saxophone. The chemistry was there, and it wasn’t long before Hawkins decided that this performance, which the group was calling “The Cypher’s Corner”, would open the Black History Performance.

From there, Hawkins and Kenner worked to complete the remainder of the program. Students from the Culture Club combined with artists, musicians, dancers, and others from the school to perform dances, spoken word, a monologue, a fashion show, and a one act play. In total, over fifty students performed in Blurred Lines.

“It was easy to help create this awesome program, because the students that were apart of Blurred Lines were amazing. They had so much heart and dedicated so much time to making it a success,” explained Hawkins. “I loved giving the students a platform to showcase their own original pieces.”

Students from the Fashion Show pose after the performance of Blurred Lines.

Members of the Culture Club were also quick to point out help from other students who did not perform.

“Mr. Sorenson and his theater department had a great deal of involvement. They had a huge part in putting the production on,” said Muyaka. “Grayson, Matthew, and Wesley Livingston all ran the lights and sound for the program.”

Grayson Barrett is a student in one of Woodlawn’s Theater Design and Technology sections. Matthew Jobborn and Wesley Livingston just enjoy doing light and sound as a hobby. Livingston plans on taking Theater Design next year. The students even allowed freshman Javier Allen, another student in Theater Design and Technology, to run the lights for the second half of the performances after stepping with the Alluring Queens. They were happy to help the younger student learn the ins and outs of producing lights for a production of this magnitude.

“Derwinisha Alford and Sadie Boudreaux, they did the majority of the Blurred Lines painting that was on stage,” added Morgan. “I helped with some of the painting, but they did that painting.”

The group also raved about the pictures taken by senior Krissy Danh. Danh, a transfer from Baton Rouge Magnet High School, explained that many students on campus have talents, and she was just happy that she was asked to be involved and help capture the heartfelt emotion of the performers.

Muyaka perhaps said it best when discussing the talent that came together to present Blurred Lines.

“Overall, this opened my eyes to what student on campus can do. You never know what the student next to you can do. When I first came to Woodlawn, I didn’t know he rapped, I didn’t know he rapped. When I joined the Culture Club, I learned that,” Muyaka said.

“Everyone has some type of talent,” added Danh. “Blurred Lines showed that.”

Now, we see these kids doing things. We see them making moves. And, man, are we lucky.

All pictures for this article were provided by Krissy Danh.

Woodlawn High School’s Fine Arts Department Presents “All the World’s a Stage”

Woodlawn High School’s Fine Arts Department Presents “All the World’s a Stage”

The house was packed as families, friends and district representatives attended the arts showcase hosted by Woodlawn High School’s Fine Arts Department on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 in the WHS Auditorium. The showcase, entitled “All the World’s a Stage” after Shakespeare’s play by the same name, featured visual art displays, musical numbers, theatrical scenes and performance art pieces.

While browsing a visual arts exhibit before the show, guests were invited to enjoy jambalaya prepared by parent, Samantha Jett. The visual arts exhibit featured displays from students enrolled in Art I, Art III, AP Studio Art: 2D Design, and Talented Visual Art courses. Favorite pieces were a 3D portrait created by Art III student Abdulkhaleq Hussain and Cubism-inspired self-portrait by Talented Art student, Elijah Sykes.

The talent exhibited in the visual arts displays was echoed by an orchestra trio featuring Advanced Orchestra student, Christopher Breaud; Talented Music student, Joshua “Drew” Garon Jr.; and orchestra teacher, Ms. Falco. Drew Garon performed a solo composed by Vivaldi on the violin later in the showcase.

Talented theatre student Trinh Nguyen introduces Lost N’ Sound at All the World’s a Stage.

After a brief welcome and introduction by Talented theatre student, Trinh Nguyen, Lost N’ Sound, the WHS Pop A Cappello Choir took the floor, performing popular pieces such as Stitches by Shaun Mendez and Somebody I Used to Know by Goyte. With standout vocalists Jaylyn James and Shaun McCray singing, it was not long before the cameras were flashing and the crowd was singing along.

The Suave King Panthers, led by Jeroderick Allen Jr. and the Alluring Queens, under the direction of Nakavia Chapman, were next up on stage. The WHS Step Team really “stepped it up” for this performance with both whole group and separate team routines that captivated the audience with their in-sync movements and hand-foot coordination.

The WHS Jazz Ensemble, The Smooth Purple Groove, played equally engaging rhythms with songs such as I Feel Good by James Brown and Night and Day, arranged by EBR Talented Music teacher, Mike Esneault. Performers such as Kyle Monic, Mason Stubbs, and Brennan Burleigh took turns showing off their talent as they played jazz solos throughout the pieces. Evan Earl, Joshua Hayden, Christopher Jones, Javin Leggett, Blaine van Stock, and Invie Williams played multiple selections that showcased their talent as part of the Talented Music Ensemble, under the direction of EBR Talented Music teacher, BJ McGibney.

The showcase would not be complete without the dramatic performances of our theatre students and drama club. Members of the Theatre IV class and drama club performed in multiple scenes from classic television shows including Pet Shop, a Monty Python sketch performed by McKenzie Martin and Kennedy Sorrell and Who’s on First by Abbott and Costello, performed by Dominic Messina and Mitchell Maclean. The drama club did not forget the literary classics when Madisyn McAlister portrayed a lead role in a scene from Lord Byron’s Love Letter by Tennessee Williams.

Students who participated in All the World’s a Stage receive cheers from the crowd and pose for pictures after the performance.

In the last performance of the night, The Bully Pulpit by Dwayne Hartford, the Talented Theatre students used their skills to highlight a common concern among school age students, bullying. With comedic relief throughout the performance, they were able to portray what bullying is and how it affects those involved. The showcase concluded with a curtain call featuring the entire company with a special recognition to the key players behind the scenes, Javier Allen, John Grayson Barrett, Laila Fisher, Keveyon Franklin, Matthew Jobborn, and Caleb Massarek.

The company would like you remember that “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players,” and without the support of some key players, this would not be possible. The company would like to thank Mr. Sorenson for directing the arts showcase, Ms. Samantha Jett for preparing the jambalaya, Ms. Washington for capturing the performances on camera, all program sponsors for their guidance, and family and friends that attended for their support. Also, they would like to extend a special thanks to the district representatives that attended, including School Board Representative, Jill Dyason; Executive Director of High Schools, Benjamin Necaise; Director of Fine Arts, Wayne Talbot; and Supervisor of Gifted and Talented Programs, Babs Stapleton.

Woodlawn Theater Presents Twist to Classic “A Christmas Carol”

Woodlawn Theater Presents Twist to Classic “A Christmas Carol”

by Madisyn McAlister

On December 1st and 2nd, Woodlawn High School’s drama department performed their annual Christmas play. This year the collection of various Woodlawn students performed “A Dickens’ Christmas Carol – A Traveling Travesty in Two Tumultuous Acts”, which is a farce of “A Christmas Carol”.

img_3856This interesting play was chosen by Ms. Morton because, “It’s hard to find Christmas plays, so you’re stuck with doing the same play or finding something new.”
This is certainly not the same classic Christmas play many are used to. For this play, anyone could audition. For the auditions, those trying out were given a sheet of paper to put down their information as well as stating what character they would like to be, based off of a short description of each character. Then, Ms. Morton would select three or so students who were auditioning, and give them a script. The students would then have to cold read a scene and based off that, the roles would be assigned. Though anyone in the school could be involved with the play, Theater III and IV students are required to participate for a grade.

Even though there were difficulties preparing for the play, such as some actors needing to drop out of the play, the actors have been very positive.

“Stressful, but so far has been an amazing experience,” commented one of the actors when asked about the process. When asked about how they feel about the play, the actors replied with squeals of excitement. Those involved with the play have been supporting it by discussing it with anyone they can and posting about it on social media.

“Students are surprised about how much they enjoy it,” says Ms. Morton when referring to plays. “I think it’s hopefully something students will learn to support, like they do sports”.