ThreeSixty -

By Belle Lin

“We are called to speak – as artists!” chanted members of Central High School’s Touring Theatre as the beat of drums echoed across a bare stage in the black box theatre. As they fanned out in perfect formation, the room reverberated with the sound of rhythmic clapping and stomping. With some on vocals, others on percussion instruments, and the rest moving to the beat, the students, all in matching red t-shirts, began their performance with a blend of rhythmic singing and hip-hop dance.

Central Touring Theatre (CTT) is an extra-curricular acting troupe at Central High School, the largest urban school in St. Paul with a diverse student body of about 2,000. For the past three decades CTT has provided students of all backgrounds the opportunity to channel their issues into original student-produced theater. Led and founded by theater and CTT Artistic Director Jan Mandell, the program aims to create a “safe space” that breaks traditional barriers of race, ethnicity, family, relationships and teen issues.

One of the main goals of the theater group is to expose a wide range of issues to the public eye. Their touring performance “We Are Called to Speak” features a series of vignettes on issues ranging from global warming to the stresses of standardized testing and dating.

“When you give students the tools to create and the freedom to dream, amazing things happen,” explains Mandell.

Getting to the real issues in a safe space

“We try to get past stereotypes and break them on purpose,” said Khymyle Mims, a senior in his first year with the touring group. “We showed a white guy rapping and an interracial scene on a relationship between a black guy and a white girl…it was a different way of addressing the issue.”

Addressing issues they care about is exactly what members of CTT achieve. Lyric Rafn-Stoffer, a senior in her third year of the program, says CTT is not only an outlet for students to voice their thoughts, but also a way for them to raise awareness.

“It’s the relationships you make, the issues you touch on, and the fact that you’re learning about life and teaching that makes [Central Touring Theatre] so great,” Rafn-Stoffer said.

Students enroll by first joining one of Mandell’s day school acting classes, either at the beginning or advanced levels.

“I provide a safe space – a community they feel comfortable enough in to tell the truth. That’s not easy. The difference between black box and everywhere else is that kids are comfortable enough to talk about things they normally aren’t comfortable talking about, like race, or homophobia, or politics. It’s a place to take risks and where it’s okay to fail. I encourage kids to try things…. An environment where creativity is fostered. But it’s still a class- they’re held accountable and there are expectations,” says Mandell.

Students bring their life experiences to the stage

The advanced acting class, consisting mostly of juniors and seniors with theater experience, is the basis for the touring group that has performed all over the Twin Cities, including many area high school, middle, and elementary schools as well as colleges.

According to Rafn-Stoffer, the ideas for the skits are formed when each student selects a “passion” in which he or she cares deeply about. The students then, on their own time, transform these passions into short skits, which all connect to a universal theme. One of the most important themes stressed by the touring group was a pervasiveness of “apathy and ignorance” in school, the community, and on the national and global scale.

“They say teens don’t know that much,” said junior Jermaine Edwards, “but we can use theater to show every adult teen issues. It’s nice to be in front of a group of people where there’s the feeling of everybody understanding.” Edwards, a junior in his first year of the theater program, sees the most rewarding aspects of the program as its ability to connect with live audiences.

One sketch, about a black girl “acting white” and a white girl “acting black,” provoked a powerful audience response.

“During that scene we heard people in the audience say ‘Hey, that’s me!’ The surprising thing is you wouldn’t think that many people have that problem,” said Mims.

Senior Courtney Paulson, who is often accused of “acting like a white girl” by her classmates, acted in the scene.
“I felt the strongest about this issue because it’s something that happened to me. I’m mixed, but I do listen to alternative music, and my hair does look more like a white girl’s hair when I straighten it. I always get comments about that. It does affect me and it does get irritating when people say I’m trying to be like a ‘white girl’ because I wear a certain brand of clothing,” she said.
Some of the sketches depicted more touchy subjects like a deadbeat dad attempting to reunite with his son and gay or lesbian relationships.

“We talk about homosexuality and I think that was the most controversial issue,” said Paulson. “But everything is controversial because everything we put on stage is a true story- things that have happened to one of us. We’re putting ourselves out there.”

A close-knit family

Demetrius Lolar, a senior in his fourth year of the program, describes the tight-knit group as a “kind of family.”

“Everyone argues but we’re accepting- it’s fun,” says Lor. “[Central Touring Theatre] is my favorite part of the day. Everyone can relate to the issues we talk about, and that’s the most important thing. Jan (Mandell) has taught me a lot. I’ve learned never to give up and that there’s always someone who believes in you. You’ve got to keep your head up.”

Lolar, who describes himself as someone who “wasn’t always the good kid,” says the lessons he learned also carried over to basketball. When he got cut from the school’s team, Lolar didn’t give up. He kept trying and gained an experience that helped him “get through the day.”

Mandell makes the learning mutual – her students’ work, effort and lives give strength to her “[They teach me] how to endure through difficult situations, because students do it daily and I always see students as my role models.”

“In one of my classes, there were seven students who died all in one semester. There was a kid that had one friend shot, another dead, and another one killed in a car crash. We were able to survive a number of tragedies. We would talk about them in community circles… It was a place to grieve and heal. It was tough for me when I felt like I was too exhausted or old to teach, but you learn how to endure by learning to endure yourself. It’s hard doing social justice in the country we’ve been living in for the past couple decades…

“The tough times are sometimes daily in class when you see kids struggle with a lot of personal and emotional issues. As that happens they also have a place to put it. I really see the arts as a place for social justice, as a place for academics, and as a place to heal.”