When Nathan Palman, a Culver City High School senior, decided to audition for “The Laramie Project” last September, he never dreamed his first foray into theatre would result in such a rewarding experience.
“Acting in The Laramie Project introduced me for the first time to the world of theatre,” he said. He was impressed by “the entire process of staging a production and the hard work by so many individuals that goes into it.”
The California Educational Theatre Assn. holds its annual High School Theatre Festival on the Martin Luther King holiday weekend in mid-January.
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Lighting designer Eric Mitchell
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From left, Justin Forsythe, Josh Call, Brandon Blum, Emily Dorrell, Chris Clark, Joey Guthman and Aaron Moses build the set
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Brandon Blum, Kevin Mitchell and Louie Chavez were winners
Officially, the festival consists of performances by the winners from four regions, an afternoon of workshops, and a culminating awards ceremony on Sunday afternoon.
Unofficially, it is a weekend of new friendships for theatre students and teachers whose shared love of the art form brings them together from forty schools across Southern California. Blurred Vision Theatre Company, from Culver City High School’s Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, won first place regional honors for its fall production of The Laramie Project.
They earned the right to bring the production to the festival.
The Silver Award — and Reward
Sheila Silver, AVPA’s Creative Director of Theatre, joined the faculty two years ago. She has brought her vision and skill to inspire students to achieve their highest level of artistry for two straight years.
Last year’s “Nicholas Nickleby” won first place regional honors and went on to win seven of nine festival awards, including the ultimate prize: Best Ensemble. On Friday morning of the festival weekend, after loading a rented truck with sets and production equipment, 48 theatre students boarded a school bus and traveled to Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga.
Friday night’s opening ceremony and the production by a regional winner was packed with energy. At 4:30 Saturday morning, the cast and crew of The Laramie Project boarded the bus at the hotel and traveled to the theatre.
They spent the next five hours unloading the truck, assembling sets and lighting rigs, preparing costumes and stage makeup while warming up physically and mentally for the show. At 10 o’clock, the doors opened and students slowly filled the state-of-the-art theatre. For the next 2½ hours, a packed audience was riveted — sometimes tearfully — by the performance that told the true story of Matthew Sheppard, the victim of a tragic 1998 hate crime. At its conclusion, the actors somberly joined together onstage to screaming cheers and a standing ovation that continued for two full minutes.
As the cast and crew lay on the grass in the sun, having just disassembled the set and loaded the truck after the morning performance, groups of theatre students spotted them.
“Hey, Laramie Project!” they shouted. “Your play was awesome! It trans-FORMED me!”
“Yeah! It changed the way I think, seriously!”
Especially touching was the comment from a festival volunteer, who quietly offered, “Your show had heart. It really had heart.”
Actor Emma Niles said that she “talked to a lot of kids who said that they never would have been able to do a show like The Laramie Project at their school because of its mature content.
“Meeting other theatre-loving teens made me realize how thankful I am to Ms. Silver. She trusted we could handle the material.”
Sunday afternoon’s Awards Ceremony brought prestigious honors to Culver City High School:
Louie Chavez for his winning Senior Audition monologue, worth a $500 scholarship; Kevin Mitchell, Best Male Cameo Performance for his portrayal of the Rev. Fred Phelps; Brandon Blum, Best Actor (multiple roles); and Best Ensemble — the festival’s highest honor — for an extraordinary second year in a row.
In addition, AVPA film student Ben Mullen was awarded second place honors in the film category for “iDate.”
“CETA was unbelievable,” said actor Sierra Parsons. “Spending three days with 2,000 high school theatre students reminds me why I love theater. I can’t wait to expand my knowledge and repertoire of an art form that gives me the opportunity to express myself in such an incredible way.”
As for the rookie Nathan Palman, who received a Certificate of Excellence in Theatre, he said his assignment was “long, difficult and tiring. But telling this truly important story and being so well-received and reviewed as an actor made it all worth it. Winning CETA was just the cherry on top.”
Ms. Silver long had hoped to bring this story to the stage for its themes of tolerance and acceptance.
Proud of her students and deeply moved by the instant camaraderie she felt with theatre directors, she said she was humbled. “Winning CETA once was amazing. Winning twice validates the work to which AVPA and CCUSD is committed. As Father Roger says in the play, ‘Tell it right and tell it well.’ We tried to do just that.”
Upon receiving his award, Brandon Blum graciously said, “It was an honor to work on a show with the level of impact The Laramie Project had. I’d like to thank everyone involved, especially Ms. Silver.”
As the bus pulled up to Culver City High School on Sunday night, Ms. Silver and 48 students shared an emotional last few moments of a weekend they will always remember.
Having spent the past 3½ years committed to AVPA Theatre, veteran thespian Kevin Mitchell reflected, “Coming home from CETA, I experienced nearly every emotion known to man. I guess that means art makes you a more complete human being.”
Support from Sony Pictures Entertainment, Playa Vista, Center Theatre Group, the Actors Gang and the Culver City Education Foundation, made the festival experience possible.
See avpa.org
