PHUH Theater Students Head to National Competition

Through the efforts of parents, teachers and students, the  theater program has raised $11,000 to pay for a trip to the Southeastern Theatre Conference in Chattanooga, TN this week.

The students performed the play Wiley and the Hairy Man at the Florida Theatre Conference in the fall. Judges were so impressed with them, they awarded the teens top honors, which earned them a chance to represent Florida at the conference in Chattanooga.

“We were so surprised when we won!” said Amanda Springer, who plays Mammy. “We went to just have fun. When we heard we won, it was just crazy.”

The students raised the money through a garage sale, dinner theater and silent auction. The 24 cast members worked diligently to reach their goal, selling more than 300 tickets for the dinner theater.

The money will pay for the students' bus, hotel and meals, and the $180 conference participation fee for each cast member.

Theater teacher Graham Howard is excited about the trip.

“We are going to have fun,” Howard said. “We always want to entertain and give a strong performance. We are going to enjoy the experience.”

Howard has been an English and theater teacher for 25 years in Pinellas County. The cast members for Wiley are International Baccalaureate theater students and members of his advanced theater class.

Many of Howard’s former students are currently working in show business as stage managers and actors, and he sees promise in his lead actors in Wiley, too.

“Tim Hart and Darcy Forrest have great potential,” Howard said. "Amanda Springer has as much potential, talent and ability as any student I have ever had.”

Springer said her part isn't as easy as she makes it look.

“This is the biggest acting challenge I have ever had,” Springer said. “The character Mammy is so far off from who I am. Mammy is a crazy, conjuring, protective mother, and I am this skinny, blonde, little teenage girl.”

Hart, who plays Hairy Man, worked to get the role right. “I worked hard on my speech and movement," he said. “My goal is to make the character memorable."

All of the students had great things to say about their director. 

“I have very high respect for Mr. Howard,” said Forrest, who plays Wiley. “He is a professional-grade director. To have him as our director is an honor.”

Hart agreed. “He is absolutely brilliant,” he said. “I’ve worked with him for the last year and a half. He is amazing!”

Springer said Howard's relationship with his students is special.

“He is the most influential teacher I ever had," she said. "He is like a father to us, in all honesty.”

Howard says his actors are ready to give a great performance in Chattanooga, and he is passionate about the value of teaching the arts in education today.

“The arts address the whole child, socially and educationally," Howard said. “The collaboration, the integration of knowledge and performance, coupled with responsibility, are evident in every theater production.”

The cast and chaperones leave for the conference Tuesday. The performance will take place the following day.

For information about the theater program at PHUH, call the school at 727-669-1131.