12 May 2011
Students Recognized with Awards for Outstanding Work
DALLAS—Actress Irma P. Hall joined aspiring thespians from Dallas ISD middle and high schools to celebrate the art of expression at the Irma P. Hall Theatre Arts Festival held recently at A. Maceo Smith High School.
Hall welcomed the audience and festival participants as eight Dallas ISD high schools presented original 10-minute plays dealing with issues such as youth violence, marital infidelity, casualties of war, and much more. The plays were written, acted and directed by students. Two middle schools presented original duet scenes and monologues.
The event culminated with a red carpet walk and awards ceremony honoring the students for their work. The top awards included:
· Outstanding Tech – Josh Greenfield, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
· Outstanding Actress – Afton Welch, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
· Outstanding Actor – Braylon Council, A. Maceo Smith High School
· Outstanding Director – Jordan Golden, W.T. White High School
· Outstanding Playwright – the entire cast from David W. Carter High School
The Irma P. Hall Award for achieving a gold performance rating in playwrighting, directing and acting was awarded to David W. Carter, Booker T. Washington, W.T. White and A. Maceo Smith high schools.
The performances were judged by a panel of collegiate and professional directors and actors.
Each team also received valuable feedback from professional actors who served as centre stage critics.
Hall praised the work of the students saying art and drama are "some of the best ways you can find out about young people, how they think, what's on their mind, how they see the world." Hall went on to say it was remarkable to see "the skills [these students] have in putting it all together and bringing things to a conclusion."
This year marks the festival's fifth year. "Dallas ISD is a leader statewide in education reform. We have been proud to work with the district on establishing Early College High School; Texas Science Technology Engineering and Math Academies; better use of data at the classroom, campus and district levels; and the national Measures of Effective Teaching project to help discover what great teachers are doing in classrooms."
John Fitzpatrick,Texas High School Project, August 2010