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"One Voice: A Black History Narrative"

Jeremiah Dew and his performance of “One Voice: A Black History Narrative” was a show that did not disappoint. 

In his “Sit By Me” presentation to the Lower School last Wednesday, Dew presented the story of Rosa Parks and the Freedom Writers as well as Dr. Martin Luther King. Using videos, child geared slides, and even student participation, Dew was able to present that time in history in a way that students understood.

First grader William Karnes said, “My favorite part was when he did the “I Have a Dream Speech”.

Unlike his Lower School performance, throughout the Upper School presentation Dew never stepped out of character, moving seamlessly through the great historical figures Fredrick Douglas, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, Muhammad Ali, and Barack Obama. Dew performed portions of their famous works, letting their words as well as the words of South Carolinians who lived during during the time period, retell history. 

10th grader Kaila Guyen said, “I liked how eloquently he spoke.”

Dew’s afternoon presentation was the one that started his career a decade ago. Dew explained that this performance was supposed to be a two-night ticketed event. February 27, 2011, his birthday, was when he put on the first show. By the end of the second show, a man came up to him and asked him to come and perform for his company. Dew agreed. After that performance, a person at the company said that their spouse was a principal, and their school needed to see his performance. Ten years later, Dew is still performing, traveling from his hometown of Greenville all over the country.

When asked how he came up with the idea for the show, Dew stated, “I felt people needed to hear what the actual people were saying and not just the themes and philosophies in which they could be interpreted.”

It was a delight for PCA students and faculty to hear the words of great Black Americans in history come to life through Jeremiah Dew.

Middle School Art Students Showcase Creativity!

COVID or not, the show must go on! 

Middle School Drama teacher, Jenni Brown, alongside of art teachers Rachel Cook and Anna Boyer, are making adjustments to ensure that middle school drama students will get to put on a performance this year. That includes getting creative when it comes to putting together costumes and the use of masks. And that's where our art students step in.

“We are creating paper mache heads out of strips of newspaper and a glue/water mixture,” explained art teacher Rachel Cooper. “Once we begin the design process, we will be adding string, cloth and other material to bring the "big heads" to life. Although the actors in the play are only 6th graders, we are having both 6th and 7th grade working on creating and designing each character throughout the next few weeks. They will take two weeks to create the structure of all 14 "big heads" and two more weeks to paint and add each character's unique features.”

But why paper mache heads? “There are two reasons they are creating "big heads" for the play this year,” Cooper continued. “First, the 6th and 7th graders get to be a part of the creation and design process of their characters and will get to see their artwork on display during the play. Secondly, each actor can wear their character's head (instead of wearing a mask) on stage in order to maintain COVID protocol.” The upper school art students are helping as well, putting together the backdrops for the scenes.

With all the hard work put forth by not only the teachers but the students, these performances are sure to be a colorful and fun sight.