Wow! World Premiere of PROSPECT HIGH (based on true events) at Central High School with @_Mitchellaneous

The Cast of Central High School's PROSPECT
HIGH: BROOKLYN

On Friday night, I had the honor of attending the World Premiere of Daniel Robert Sullivan's Prospect High: Brooklyn, a script created from the real worlds and experiences of New York City high school students in partnership with the Roundabout Theater Company. As expected, Shaun Mitchell, Connecticut Teacher of the Year finalist and CWP-Fairfield Powerhouse, did a phenomenal job mentoring actors through a mature and sometimes difficult to swallow play.

Mature. That was the theme of the night as Mr. Mitchell explained the students would use adolescent language and would explore the realities of the violence in some urban schools (here, an exploration of a true-to-life incident where a young man and his friend bludgeoned to death a classmate with a hammer).

The writer, Sullivan, worked with teenagers to get their vernaculars and to sculpt a piece of drama from adolescent angles. Overall, I was impressed by the entire performance. Yet, as any individual who works with urban youth (and teachers) would attest, I'm not sure the dialogue Sullivan penned is as authentic and real as the voices we typically hear in our schools. The story was compelling and the  performers at Central High School did a remarkable job, but I wanted a little more believability from the script, especially with how teachers and youth interact.

The most touching scene for me was when Mr. Nichols and Makala, played by Anthony Mellow-Valle and Shaqueen Bromley, had an intimate conversation about cutting...the phenomenon where an individual digs into their skin to make it bleed. Such violence is to help them feel (usually associated with those who are most dead inside and the subject of a piece I wrote called Venglish, published in The Pressures of Teaching). The two actors at Central High School did a delicate job with this particular scene and I will keep the story of using Sharpies to create butterflies with me for the rest of my life. This, I felt, was more realistic to the exchanges between teachers and students (although, in reality, a male teacher would not necessarily subject himself to being alone with a student, even if the intentions are for helping them to heal).

My major critique of Prospect High had nothing to do with the directions or acting, but with the believability of what students and teachers have to say to one another. I know it is hard to capture the life of an urban school in 90-minutes and that dialogue needs to move quickly to get a story across. Still, I wondered about the authentic input the writer had from teachers and students. Those I've worked with in urban schools are more complex than how they were written by the author.
Teaching is complex. Youth cultures are even more complex. Perhaps the script could have been more complex.  Sullivan tried to show balance between bad teachers and good teachers in his writing (which was moderately successful), but like Freedom Writers, Impossible Minds, and any film trying to capture the energy of a school, it can get a little hokey at times.

Shaun Mitchell and Patrick Setiadi

Besides that, the entire production was totally worthwhile. The kids rocked the script given to them and did a phenomenal job pulling the audience into the story. Bria (Aislin Otero), Devin (Patrick Setiadi), and Andrea (Taina Vilorio) were phenomenal leads and well casted. Anny (Henecy Gomez) also did a great job portraying a transgendered youth trying to maintain integrity throughout the script.

Within the performance the teacher in me wanted to intercede with workshops, support, and dialogue about the content. Yes, the realities of urban schools are intense at times, but I've found even in the worst circumstances there's a special relationship between teachers and students that has them bonded together against incredible circumstances. They are not the enemy of each other; instead, they share an enemy beyond the boundaries of brick walls and security checks. The enemy, I believe, is the one that exists in the apathy those in power have towards the tremendous socio-economic divide in this nation. The enemy is  the political mechanism that  worsens urban schools rather than provides them with the resources they need.

Regardless, I'm thumbs up for the work of Mr. Mitchell and his cast. I'm so glad I attended and experienced their great work. Congratulations.