Under the baobab: Success of former students brings special kind of joy
Big time congrats to coach Carolyn Kieger and the 15-5 Lady Lions, who are on a five-game win streak. Makenna Marisa became only the seventh player in Lady Lion history to reach 2,000 career points. She is one of three active players in the Big Ten to have reached that plateau this year. Not uncoincidentally, grad student guard Ashley Owusu earned her fourth consecutive 18 point plus game since her return to the court. She became the fourth Lady Lion to earn a spot on the conference’s honor roll this year. Coach Kieger says the team is focused on the Big Ten tournament and making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013-14.
Coaches and teachers are among the most important and least rewarded heroes in our community. In their hands are those who hold the future of the world. As a theater teacher I am most blessed when one of my former students is recognized for their work. Da’Vine Joy Randolph earned the Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award as best supporting actress for her wonderful work in “The Holdovers,” which was also nominated for best picture. In addition to being one of her teachers at Temple, I was fortunate to direct her in Ma Rainey’s “Black Bottom.” I also accompanied her to her Yale Drama School audition. Upon graduation she nailed a Broadway role in “Ghosts” for which she received a Tony nomination. Da’Vine grew up in Philly.
Another student doing well is Herb Newsome (Penn State MFA 2002). He is currently directing “Blues is the Roots, the Willie Dixon Story,” at the New Horizon Theatre in Pittsburgh. Opening Feb. 8, it will run through Feb. 18. It tells the story of my uncle’s struggle to create the Chicago blues sound in the 1950s. Uncle Willie was also responsible for helping other Black music artists get their just compensation from ruthless white producers. The show features other Penn State actors and is being considered for the Chicago Blues Festival and the Black Theatre Festival later this year.
Most of us know about Keegan-Michael Key and Ty Burrell, two award winning TV and film stars who are both graduates of the Penn State MFA theater program. Paying it forward, both have returned to their alma mater on numerous occasions to mentor and support other young artists hoping to follow in their footsteps. Prof. Steve Broadnax III, head of the PSU grad acting program, Herb’s classmate, has directed several plays in New York. Currently Steve is directing Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks’, “Sally & Tom” at the Public Theatre. Alano Miller, another PSU MFA grad, will be featured in the premiere. Stori Ayers, MFA graduate, will be appearing in Samm-Art Williams’ classic, “Home,” on Broadway later this season directed by Kenny Leon. Former PSU student and Broadway sensation, James Lane, was featured in the NYC debut of his one man show, “Triple Threat.” He was going to present scenes from it at PSU’s African American Music Festival (AAMF) produced by Dr. Anthony Leach, except he was hired to perform in Paper Mill Playhouse’s “After Midnight.” Gilbert L. Bailey II and Allyson Kaye Daniel, both former PSU theater students, will be performing at the AAMF.
Last year, a former student and current associate, James Ijames, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his play, “Fat Ham.” The delight of his accomplishment billowed back through the ancestral clouds. In these vexing times, amid the cacophony of an ever-encroaching troubled world, we can extract nuggets of joy from dismal ore. When our children speak and we listen, they may remind us of what we have forgotten.
“Never forget that all storms will clear. Remember brighter tomorrows are always near.”- Terrie Brushette
Charles Dumas is a lifetime political activist, a professor emeritus from Penn State, and was the Democratic Party’s nominee for U.S. Congress in 2012. He was the 2022 Lion’s Paw Awardee and Living Legend honoree of the National Black Theatre Festival. He lives with his partner and wife of 50 years in State College.
