Advanced TMS Drama Students meet with actors from Marin Theatre Company

The advanced drama students attended a special, sold-out matinee performance of Tarell Alvin McCraney's In the Red and Brown Water last Tuesday, Sept. 28th at Marin Theatre Company. The play is the first in a cycle of plays entitled The Brother/Sister Plays. Though set in a fictional Louisiana town, In the Red and Brown Water intriguingly combines a number of disparate elements including West African regligious deities, Greek-like choral recitation and spoken stage directions to remarkable effect. The students prepared for the play by work shopping several scenes from it in advance of the show. Comparing MTC's version with the students' own production ideas proved to be a highlight, as did the Q and A session with the plays actors that immediately followed MTC's production. The day's events were such a great success that the students plan to attend the second and third plays in McCraney's Louisana cycle, which are to be shown in an unique partnership this season later at The Magic and ACT.

Photo: Advanced drama students with actors from Marin Theatre Company's production of Tarell Alvin McCraney's In the Red and Brown Water.

Advanced Drama Trip to Marin Theatre Company

On Tuesday, September 29th students from the advanced drama class took a field trip to Marin Theatre Company to see the current, acclaimed production of My Name is Asher Lev. An adaptation of the Chaim Potok novel, the play chronicles the struggles of a young painting prodigy torn between his desire to pursue his art and the strictures of his Hasidic upbringing. In preparation for the matinee performance, students workshopped scenes from the play themselves. Immediately following the Marin Theatre Company performance, the students participated in a question-and-answer session with the play's cast. Two TMS drama students, junior Mollie Wilson and senior Hannah Aubry, currently serve on the Marin Theatre Company's Teen Advisory Board.