Posted on Dec 31, 2016 in
FEATURES
Kelsey Brown, Juror 4; Ethan Walker, Juror 8; Olivia Goodman, Juror 7; Tolu Akinpelu, Juror 1; Christa Skaria, Juror 5; Michael Pozzi, Juror 3; Isabella Hernandez, Juror 12; Hayden Roberts, Juror 2; Kendall Payne, Guard; Kolton Kaminski, Juror 11; Baylee Morales Clemente, Juror 10; Levi Loveless, Judge; Luke Thurston, Juror 9; crew members Fisher Galvin and Alex Somarriba and Taylor Font, Juror 6. Photo by Robert Sanders and Sarah Fiore.
The Fort Bend Christian Academy (FBCA) Theatre Department advanced – for the first time in school history – to the TAPPS (Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools) One-Act Play Championship, and their outstanding performance earned them the title of State TAPPS One-Act Play Champions.
Kolton Kaminski received the Honorable Mention Cast Award, and both Ethan Walker and Kelsey Brown received All-Star Cast Awards. “I could not be more proud of this group of students and the hard work they put into making this play come to life,” said Drama & Theatre Arts Teacher Lana Thompson.
The cast performed Twelve Angry Jurors, a play about a jury forced to reconsider its nearly unanimous decision by the single dissenter who sows a seed of reasonable doubt. The story begins after closing arguments have been presented in a homicide case, as the judge is giving his instructions to the jury. The twelve jurors must unanimously decide on a verdict of guilty or not guilty.
“They started this year with the goal to advance, and they came together to form a chemistry onstage that allowed them to fulfill that goal,” Thompson said. “I am so incredibly grateful to have been a part of it all and watch them, step by step, create this world onstage.”
“When we were awarded first place in state, it was a surreal experience,” student Levi Loveless said. “It never would have happened without our theatre teacher pushing us to become better actors and to really take this play seriously.”
FBCA High School Principal Joshua Gettys added, “It is an incredible time to be a member of the Fort Bend Christian Academy Theatre Program and High School! I could not be more proud of our students and Mrs. Thompson for the ways in which they have represented themselves and our school. God has given our students many talents, and it is inspiring to witness their hard work, commitment and perseverance come to fruition in this accomplishment.”
Celebrating their state win were Cameo Green, Olivia Goodman, Amanda Ajim, Taylor Font, Kolton Kaminski, Tolu Asade, Ethan Walker, Michael Pozzi, Levi Loveless, Kendall Payne, Luke Thurston, Fisher Galvin, Christa Skaria, Hayden Roberts, Tolu Asade, Baylee Morales Clemente, Alex Somarriba, Lana Thompson, Isabella Hernandez, Kelsey Brown and Grace Beecroft.
The future looks bright for the FBCA Theatre Department. In December 2016, FBCA completed construction on a new, state-of-the-art Visual Arts Pavilion at the Seven Oaks Campus. The pavilion encompasses approximately 7,000 square feet and will be used as multi-purpose space for art, sculpture, jewelry making, industrial design and other varieties of mediums. It will also be utilized for showcasing the arts on the FBCA campus, providing space for collaborating school, university and community art exhibitions, lectures and symposiums, building unique sets and backdrops for drama performances, establishing a robotics club to increase educational opportunities for engineering students and providing upper level experiences for middle and elementary art classes.
Upcoming FBCA performances include the children’s theatre play Miss Nelson Is Missing! on February 17th and 18th, and on February 24th and 25th, Theatre 3/4 will perform two evenings of student-directed one-act plays.
For more information about the Fine Arts Program at FBCA, contact Robert Sanders at 281-263-9175 or at rsanders@fortbendchristian.org.
