(Forefront) JESSICA TRAN does a tantalizing performance of Turn Back, O Man in Travis High School's production of GODSPELL.
William B. Travis High
School
1111 Harlem Road, Richmond
Texas 77469
Phone 281-634-7138
TRAVIS THEATRICAL CO.
Travis High School Department of Fine Arts
Theatre Arts Program
Present
GODSPELL
January 24, 25, 26 and 27, 2008
Conceived and Originally Directed by John-Michael Tebellak
Music and New Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
(Forefront) JESSICA TRAN does a tantalizing performance
of Turn Back, O Man in Travis High School's production of GODSPELL.
Interview with Kyle Martin
Director of Theatre, Travis High School
By Theresa Pisula
HoustonTheatre.com
theresa@houstontheatre.com
Kyle Martin is the new director at Travis Theatrical Company. He comes from Sterling High School in Baytown where he served as Technical Director and Thespian Sponsor for the last 3 years. Before that, Mr. Martin was the assistant director at Channelview High School. He has been involved in theatre his entire life including the UIL One Act Play competition for 2 years in high school. Mr. Martin went on to Abilene Christian University where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre. After college, he tried his hand in the professional world, working with theatres in Dallas before becoming a certified teacher and moving to the Houston area.
Since his return he has directed many shows, including Wait Until Dark, The Fantasticks, Holes, based on the book by Louis Sachar, and Grease. As an actor some of Mr. Martin’s favorite roles include Snout in Midsummer Night’s Dream, Chebutykin in Three Sisters, Ed in You Can’t Take it With You, and Jesus in Godspell. He currently serves on the Board of Directors at the Baytown Little Theater. Mr. Martin lives with his wife Amanda, who teaches second grade and two cats.
Theresa: I’m sorry Josephine (Tran) couldn’t be here today to be interviewed. I really wanted to talk to her, she did such a great performance.
Kyle: Josephine is not even in my theatre class.
Theresa: Oh, she’s not? What about Jessica Reis? I remember them both as Sally and Lucy from the Charlie Brown production last year.
Kyle: She stayed home today. Jessica is in this class. But she’s not here today. This whole cast has so many little mishaps…
Theresa: Well you do have a lot of people in the cast.
Kyle: I don’t know if you saw her after the show but Jessica was on crutches. She’s been walking on crutches for the last week. Except for when she’s onstage. But her foot has been bothering her and she didn’t want to make it worse.
Theresa: But on this show, she was break dancing! And I couldn’t wait to ask her about that. She’s so talented. But all the kids are talented. They were all great!
Kyle: It’s an ensemble cast. Obviously, Jesus is the lead but it’s such an ensemble.
Travis High School's production of GODSPELL.
Theresa: What inspired you to do Godspell?
Kyle: I wanted to choose something that I was familiar with. I wanted to choose something that the music wasn’t too terribly hard. And then I wanted to choose something that had a little bigger cast than what they did last year but, I didn’t think they were ready for a 30-40 person musical yet…
Theresa: How many is in the cast of this musical?
Kyle: 15. And actually supposed to be only 10, but I added 5 to pull out the cast, to fill up the voices. We had some really great actors who weren’t necessarily singers and then we had some really great singers who weren’t as strong in acting. And so, I just kinda mixed and matched.
Theresa: What was your experience with Godspell previously?
Kyle: I was in it. I played Jesus a couple of years ago at a Community theatre in Baytown. In High School, I had heard of the show but I didn’t know anything about it until I was already out of college and a teacher. By then, I knew about it and I’ve never seen it or heard the music. When I was a teacher I saw a production of it.
Theresa: Neither have I until I saw this show. It’s good!!!
Kyle: I really like the musical a lot. It’s really upbeat. It’s poppy but it’s not bland. It’s got a lot of musicality.
Theresa: It’s almost like Jesus Christ Superstar.
Kyle: Yeah. It’s like Jesus Christ Superstar but without the edge. I can get away with doing Godspell. But I don’t know (laughs) if I can get away with Jesus Christ Superstar. I wish (laughs).
Travis High School Theatre Director KYLE MARTIN
Theresa: The cast was amazing and all the kids were really good. When did you start here at Travis high school?
Kyle: This is my first year. I came here from Sterling High School in Baytown. I was there for 3 years as a technical director. I also directed plays.
Theresa: It’s a bigger high school than this one, right?
Kyle: Well, here we only have up to juniors. They have seniors. It’s a 5A school. Yeah, even by next year, when we have seniors here at Travis, I’m sure Sterling will still be bigger. In fact it’s overcrowded now and they’re planning to open up a new high school next year.
Theresa: What was like starting here at Travis High School?
Kyle: Well, it’s different. The culture is different.
Theresa: How so?
Kyle: The kids are very different. They’re different in a lot of ways and in a lot of ways they’re still the same.
Theresa: They’re more city kids as opposed to Baytown which is the outskirts of the City of Houston?
Kyle: They’re different in the socio-economic sense that there is more white-collar here. As opposed to Baytown, where there are refineries and all the parents work. Here, the mom gets to stay home. Here, I have some moms who fortunately have time to help out a lot more. And that’s really nice. Also, there’s a difference when there are no seniors on campus.
Theresa: The fact that there are no seniors on campus, is there less of a talent pool?
Kyle: No, no, no. It’s actually not that at all. It’s not the talent pool at all. In a lot of ways seniors kinda bring a sense of jadedness to school sometimes. A sense of like, “We’re done with this almost.” Then having your main leaders as juniors, I think helps out a lot because they’re still pretty fresh and they’re still excited. I don’t have any kids that are ready to be done with it.
Theresa: What made you choose Richard Gomez for Jesus Christ?
Kyle: That character has to be really dynamic. He also has the hardest song of the play. He has the most singing in the play. But mainly his personality is very dynamic. He’s such a leader and such a positive person that he fit the character really well.
Theresa: He was really good. And you played the part of Jesus as well.
Kyle: Yeah, I played that part about 3 years ago. I was out of college. I was already teaching by then. It was the Baytown Little Theatre, a college community theatre I am still a part of. Now it’s a little bit more difficult with teaching this far away. I’m actually directing the summer musical which won’t be difficult at all since we’re out of school.
Theresa: So did you grow up in Baytown?
Kyle: Yes I grew up in Baytown. I was born there. I went to Baytown Sterling, which I ended up teaching, which was interesting. I went to college at Abilene Christian University and then I got a job at the Dallas Theatre Center. That was my first job out of college. I worked there for a little while and I enjoyed it. It was more on the production side and I wanted to get into Directing. After a year doing that, I got married, still waiting tables, still trying to be an actor. I finally then decided to go into teaching and the next year, I got my first teaching job at Channelview. And then the next year I went to Sterling.
Theresa: What is it about Theatre that attracted you the most?
Kyle: I’ve always done it. My dad Kim Martin is a theatre teacher. He is an actor and a director. He teaches theatre. Well actually when I was real young, he did. But for the most part when I was growing up he didn’t teach theatre. He would just direct and act in community theatre. But he was really involved. He was more involved in community theatre. And a few years ago, he went back to teaching.
Theresa: Did he come to see the show last Friday?
Kyle: No, no. My grandmother and my granddad were here Friday. My dad came on Wednesday afternoon. (Laughs) we scheduled this at a bad time. TETA, which is the Texas Educational Theatre Association had a big conference in Dallas this past weekend and I couldn’t go but my dad was there. So, he had to come a little early and watch.
Theresa: I met your grandmother last Friday and she is just so proud. It’s great to see she’s here to support you. Is your whole family in theatre?
Kyle: My granddad Kelly Martin is in theatre. My grandmother is a writer. She’s acted before, but she writes children’s book. She was an elementary teacher for years and years. And when she retired she started writing really heavily. And she’s had a couple of books published. She’s a children’s writer, Jo Ann Martin.
My granddad was a teacher for a long time. But he’s the one that got us into performing. He was a performer in high school and college. And then he became a high school teacher, then an elementary school math teacher, then eventually a principal of elementary school. He eventually went back to teaching math, which was when I was growing up he was always the math teacher.
Then, of course my dad got into it and he then passed it along to me. Both my brothers are in theatre as well. My older brother Jason Martin was actually at the show Friday night. He does it as a hobby now. My younger brother Ryan though, he is an actor. He’s actually living in New Mexico for a year to start a theatre, which is really cool for him and his wife. Ryan’s got his degree in theatre, just like I do. As far as my dad’s side of the family, my family has in some point been involved in theatre and acting in the community or college and high school. And they are also teachers. There are a lot of educators in my family too. My aunt is a teacher here in Houston. My grandparents are both teachers like my uncles. My whole family is into education.
Theresa: Tell me something about the show. Everybody was amazing. How were you able to work with the kids here at Travis High school?
Kyle: The kids are great to begin with. I basically cast them mainly on who could sing the songs. Really, the play is Jesus, and there also is John the Baptist. There’s a dual role there. Everybody else is the ensemble. And in the play they have names in the script but generally we when you do this musical, each character goes by their own name. It’s the tradition that most people follow.
Theresa: What were the challenges that you encountered?
Kyle: Probably getting them to work as a group I really emphasized the idea of this play being about the ensemble, about everybody just as important as the next person. I talk to them about blessing the audience with the energy and spirit of the play. I just really try to emphasize that with the kids and talk to them about how important each person is. But we got a lot of people get sick on the show (laughs). It’s the flu season. But we do have some people sick almost every day.
Theresa: Despite all that, they were all brilliant. I mean, they were incredible.
Kyle: By the end they really came together and I kinda had to settle down at one point and say, “Listen guys if you’re gonna make somebody else sick, then don’t come.” If you’re gonna hurt yourself further, then don’t come. But other than that, I kinda need you to get tough because we were kinda behind schedule. By the time we came back from Christmas, we were behind schedule. But then once I made that challenge to them, its calm, it’s serious, make this a priority, come together as a group. They really made it happen. Since we came back from Christmas, all kinds of magic happened. A lot of the times it’s just putting the challenge in front of the students and they pulled it through.
Theresa: When did you start rehearsals?
Kyle: Beginning of November. I cast it the week before November began and by the first week of November we started rehearsing.
Theresa: And by that time, you already who knew who you were working with as far as the students are concerned.
Kyle: Yeah, a little bit better. Of course, the first show we did was a Midsummer Night’s Dream and there’s no singing in that. I knew some of the talent, some of the kids I could really depend on. But I didn’t really know if they could sing or not.
Theresa: But they were all great singers. They really pulled it off.
Kyle: They really did.
Theresa: How did you know they had such talent? As far as the dancing and singing, it was pretty shocking and amazing at what these kids could do.
Kyle: As far as knowing, I didn’t know what singing talent they had until they auditioned. And then the choreographer Adrienne Enderle who played Snoopy in last year’s Charlie Brown. She kinda had a little better idea into what type of dancing they could handle. And she has a huge talent.
Theresa: She absolutely does. When she did Snoopy last year, I was blown away. She was singing and tap dancing on top of the Snoopy doghouse. Is she a junior?
Kyle: Yes, she’s a junior and she did the choreography. I was really impressed with the choreography that she came up with was from a high school student. I thought it was really mature. I thought it fit the whole thing really well. She choreographed every dance in the show. There were some moves that I suggested but all the complicated dance movements were all hers.
Theresa: What about the part when the students were coming out of the audience?
Kyle: It was my idea for them to come out of the audience. But the big choreography dances were hers. I also wanted them to come down into the audience and then leave through the audience at the first act. And then she kinda took those ideas and say, we can bring them down here and dance in the front row. She took my direction and expanded on it. It was almost a perfect director-choreographer working relationship because I gave her my vision and she took it and she worked it. That’s the way it should be.
RICHARD GOMEZ
Interview with Richard Gomez
Jesus in Travis High School’s production of Godspell
By Theresa Pisula
HoustonTheatre.com
theresa@houstontheatre.com
Richard Gomez is a junior and the 2007 – 2008 president of the Travis High School Theatrical Company. His more recent performances are as Don Lope in UIL OAP Lovers and Executioners, Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, Malcolm / Duncan in UIL OAP Macbeth. I also interviewed him last year as Charlie in Travis High School’s production of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.
Theresa: How are you Jesus Christ Superstar (laughs)?
Richard: (Smiles) I’m good, a little sick.
Theresa: I know you’ve been sick for the last month, right? How long has this gone on now?
Richard: It was off and on. And then Wednesday before the show opened, I had to stay home because I felt like my immune system was really low. Last Thursday night was the strongest I felt health-wise. We’ve been rehearsing since early December. And then it was just like every show day, it just kinda got a little bit worse. Thursday was really good and Friday we had 2 performances and they were really good too. And by the end of Saturday, I could barely talk. Sunday was when I started to lose my voice.
Theresa: But you were able to do it. Especially the singing…
Richard: With singing, it did give me a problem especially on Sunday just because I couldn’t hit any of the high notes.
Theresa: Were all the kids there even though everyone was getting sick?
Richard: Yup, all the kids were there. We had 3 cast members throwing up.
Theresa: So how did that work out?
Richard: We all knew we were getting sick. We were all on medication. The only way that we got through it, I tell you, is by the grace of God. He really pulled us through. He took care of us like crazy.
Theresa: (Laughs) God-willing…
Richard: Yah, it was unbelievable, the things that He did.
Theresa: As president of your theatre class, what are your responsibilities?
Richard: My job is to assist Mr. Martin the director as best as possible. Whenever he needs something done, I do it. I put the program together, took care of the headshots and the biographies. I try to keeps things in order as much as possible with this performance and keeping the cast together, keeping them focused on the show. Basically, just try to make it a really, really good production as best as I could. It was awesome.
Theresa: Well, it was great. Did you like it (laughs)?
Richard: I loved it!!! I’m glad it’s over (laughs). We were just talking about it. Because we all built the set, we worked on it Saturdays and tech class. It’s taken awhile and now it’s over. It’s gone.
Theresa: Tell us about the part that you’re playing…
Richard: I play Jesus. Let’s see how do we describe Jesus (laughs)? He gave his life for people so they can be saved. And this is the hardest part I’ve ever had to play. Because all the other parts I’ve played have been all just made up, where I can bring anything to them and make them my own. With Jesus, He’s an actual living soul. You know, He’s a real person so it was hard to act like a real person because it’s Jesus.
Theresa: Yeah, that’s a lot to live up to (laughs).
Richard: Yeah, I never even tried to think twice about playing the part perfectly because there’s no way to play Jesus perfectly. It’s impossible. The main thing was that I had faith in my Father that he was going to take care of everything. I’m the type of person that I know what God has done for me. And He’s done a lot of major things in my life. So I like to share that with my friends. And I want them to know that God really loves them. And that kind of what Jesus was doing. He was sharing the gospel with them. And he was trying to get them to love each other and become a community. So, to share the scripture and the gospel, sometimes I do that with my friends. Sometimes my friends and I will argue because we have different beliefs and everything. And that happens in the play. But I tell you at the end it was amazing to see what God really did with this production and the people in it. And literally, how we all came together as a family, in fact, in the last performance, my voice died out and they started singing the songs. Nobody planned it but they started singing the songs.
Theresa: All the kids in the cast? Wow, they really pulled together for you. This was Sunday when they did this?
Richard: Yeah, this was Sunday at the last performance. And actually, we were all in tears crying because we were so happy. Because we knew that the show was about being a community and that’s what happened.
Theresa: Aaawww. They did it for you.
Richard: Yeah, Jesus, my character was in a rut, you know. I lost my voice. And they came together to help him out. And it was perfect. It was all for the grace of God.
Theresa: From what Mr. Martin was telling me, Josephine was sick Sunday, she was throwing up before she came on and did her tantalizing foxy performance of Turn Back, O Man which comes on right after intermission. She is amazing.
Richard: Saturday, she was throwing up backstage. We had buckets for her backstage.
Theresa: Oh my gosh…
Richard: She actually had to go offstage sometimes and we played it off when she was one of the goats. I would tell her that the shepherd wants to talk to you right now so she can go backstage and…
Theresa: throw up.
Richard: But she came out she would ad lib a bunch of her lines. So she said, “Were you all waiting for me?” You know, she came out there and she played it out perfectly. I admire her so much. She kept strong and she kept close to God and He really pulled her through. She is so dedicated. They were asking her, “Do you want to go through with this song? You don’t have to…” They actually cancelled one of my songs Alas For You just because I couldn’t sing. It’s a song where I was screaming and I was really angry. So that would have butchered my voice. But she’s such a trooper, for her to go out there after getting sick…
Theresa: I know that is just amazing. You all are super troopers. What made you want to go up there anyway? A lot of people would have just blown it off.
Richard: If it were another show, I might have thought twice. But this show, it had the message, it’s sharing the love that God for had for his children. No sickness would have, I mean I would have come up here in a hospital bed with IV lines.
Theresa: (Laughs).
Richard: (Smiles) I still would have done it. Nobody could have kept me from it. This show to me is so important. Because it is about sharing God’s love and sharing His word and it just meant a lot to me. And it just meant a lot to me and nothing could have kept that from me. Even if my voice completely died and I had to sign language or I had to write up on a big poster board so people could understand what I was saying.
Theresa: (Laughs)
Richard: As long as they understood what was going on. That was my main concern.
Theresa: You did a fine job, you did really great. What inspired you to do such an amazing performance?
Richard: God really inspired me. We got a new director this year and he picked the show for a reason. God was definitely my inspiration. Through the works of God, He had us perform the show for a reason. The people that were in the show were there for a reason. It was all because He wanted it to happen. And He is really my inspiration. I couldn’t have done it without Him and I couldn’t have done it without the help from my mother Dolores Gomez who is always encouraging me. She always does her hardest to please me and my sister Loli. She loves us a lot. She works so hard for us. She has helped me out a lot because she continues to encourage me. Even though I don’t like hearing gushing compliments when she gets really mushy. From her, it makes me happy because I know that she’s proud of me and I know that she’s definitely here for me.
Theresa: Who do you want to dedicate your performance to?
Richard: I would like to dedicate it to my Heavenly Father and of course, I dedicate it to my mom. Because they are people who help me out so much. Both my mom and my dad, and of course God, they are all supportive.
RICHARD GOMEZ with mom Dolores Gomez and sister Loli Gomez
Interview with Polo Barfield
Polo in Travis High School’s production of Godspell
By Theresa Pisula
HoustonTheatre.com
theresa@houstontheatre.com
Polo Barfield is a 15 year old freshman at Travis High School whose handsome red hair and beat boxing skills made him stand out from the rest of the ensemble cast. He has been in several plays, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Little Match Girl, Money in the Bank and A Midsummer Night’s Dream to name a few. He attends The Houston Academy of Dramatic Arts for professional acting classes where he just started this past summer.
Theresa: As Mr. Martin was saying each character went by your own real name. Tell us about the part that you played in the show…
Polo: I play as myself. And the character that I played, since he had a camouflage costume on, I gave him a military feeling, strong, tough man, arrogant.
Travis High School's production of GODSPELL.
Theresa: What did it take to be able to make your performance?
Polo: I would go over it in my head and say it over and over again. I had help from my professional acting classes from the Houston Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Theresa: Is theatre something that you’ve always wanted to do?
Polo: Yeah, I’ve been doing it for 10 years actually. When I was little, 4 years old, I used to be on TV commercials.
Theresa: I was very impressed of your performance as the human beat box. As I was watching the show, you were up there as part of the ensemble. And when you started doing the beat, that’s when you stood out. Your talent really shined through that time. How were you able to do that?
Polo: Everyone did their own thing to showcase their own talent. When we were first casting those parts of those random noises, our director Mr. Martin said, “Raise your hand if you can beat box.” And I was the only one that raised my hand.
Theresa: (Laughs).
Polo: He said, “Show me.” And then I started beat boxing.
Theresa: You are amazing. You beat boxed to this really long song. And everyone was singing and what you did was add the beat. Were you born here in Houston?
Polo: Yes, I was.
Theresa: And this is your first year here at Travis High School?
Polo: Yes.
Theresa: How do you like the school so far?
Polo: I like it actually. Of course the upperclassmen give you a hard time sometimes.
Theresa: Because you’re a freshman. That’s always the case. Everyone goes through that.
Polo: Yeah, they do that. But I try to take it and I always turn it into a positive.
Theresa: Who do you want to dedicate your performance to?
Polo: The Houston Academy of Dramatic Arts, my mom Belinda Barfield and my dad Marco Barfield. He’s Marco and I’m Polo.
Theresa: Oh cool.
Polo: Yeah that name haunts me for life.
Theresa: (Laughs) that’s a cool name. What kind of performances have you done for the Houston Academy?
Polo: As far as theatre performances I have done Camp Clover there where I played as Godzilla. So far that is my favorite role.
Theresa: What is the range of student’s ages at the Academy?
Polo: They range from 7 years old to pre-teen. And teen classes are 13 and up. Summer camp is pretty much the best time you can go.
Theresa: So it’s a theatre summer camp.
Polo: And also film where you get to make up and direct your own film. I did mine. It’s a comedy and a silent film. There are no words and I directed it. It was called Do You Want to Date? It was on YouTube and everything.
Theresa: Wow. You’re a filmmaker, an actor and a human beat box. Congratulations on your performance here at Godspell. You did a great job!
Travis High School's production of GODSPELL.
Interview with Aaron Hlavaty
John the Baptist / Judas in Travis High School’s production of Godspell
By Theresa Pisula
HoustonTheatre.com
theresa@houstontheatre.com
Aaron Hlavaty is a junior at Travis High School. I interviewed him last year as Linus in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. He is also an actor, director, stage manager and treasurer of the theatre company. In his spare time he enjoys hanging out with friends, watching movies and having fun. But Aaron and I do have something in common. We love talking about our most favorite film director Tim Burton. Somehow, we just can’t get enough talking about Mr. Burton’s work and vast accomplishments.
Theresa: I see you’re a BMOC (Big Man on Campus) now since I read on the playbill that you wanted to thank your parents for providing you a car to drive to and from school. What kind of car do you drive?
Aaron: It’s a Lincoln Continental.
Theresa: Isn’t it nice to be cruising around campus with your own car (smiles)?
Aaron: Yes.
Theresa: Tell us about the part that you’re playing in Godspell.
Aaron: I play John the Baptist and Judas. It’s kind of interesting because there wasn’t a clear definition of the change. So, I had to do whatever I wanted. It was kinda cool.
Theresa: What did you have to do to prepare for your roles?
Aaron: A lot of rehearsals just like any other musical. I mean musical rehearsal and acting rehearsal and dancing rehearsals. At first it was all separate, like some days we have acting, some days music, some days dancing. And then as we started to get closer to the actual show we would mix them all together and try to do them all in one big push.
Theresa: You’re entrance was awesome. Is this the first time you’ve had to come out from behind the audience?
Aaron: For the main stage, that was the only time I’ve ever done that. It was kinda scary because everyone was right next to me as opposed to being like, distanced. Or having the distance between me and the audience, it was like RIGHT THERE. Everyone was looking right at me. I would come through the aisle and there were people like sitting just 3 feet from me.
Theresa: That was cool though. I was taken aback because we (the audience) weren’t expecting that.
Aaron: It was kinda weird the very first time I came out because I’m used to just having empty seats right there. And then the first I walked in, I was like, “Wow there are people right here.” But I mean it was a lot of fun.
Theresa: That wasn’t the only part. There was that one scene where everyone onstage went down to the audience.
Aaron: That’s one of the things I really like about Godspell that it had a lot of audience interaction. In the beginning after I baptize them they went off and they came back through the house and go to the audience. And then in Light of the World, we have the company come down again and dance with the audience, try to get them all pumped up right before we go to intermission. And then, turn back around of course, after intermission Josephine was flirting with the people in the audience. That was a lot of fun. That’s one of the things I really like about this show. When you come to see a show like Godspell it’s really great because just seeing the people just come up to you. It adds like a whole new dimension to it. It makes it a lot more fun.
Theresa: Last year when I interviewed you as Linus for Charlie Brown, we talked about our most favorite director.
Aaron: Tim Burton. I just saw Sweeney Todd and it was awesome. I loved it.
Theresa: He’s brilliant.
Aaron: I know.
Theresa: I like The Nightmare before Christmas. I love the clay animation movies especially. He just does things over the top.
Aaron: I love this vision that he has. And he does these movies with the weird, quirky characters like Edward Scissorhands. That’s like one of my favorite movies.
Theresa: Would you want to be a director one day?
Aaron: I don’t know. I thought about it. I considered cinematography in college. But I’m not really sure about what I’m gonna do until I get there. I can say that I’m gonna do things now but things change. But Tim Burton is definitely a role model of mine. He is my idol.
Theresa: I haven’t seen Sweeney Todd yet but they did that Willy Wonka movie together.
Aaron: That movie is awesome, I loved it.
Theresa: Did you like the original Willy Wonka movie?
Aaron: With Gene Wilder? Yeah, the thing is…the new one that Tim Burton did. It’s not just doing the same exact thing as the original. He took it to a whole new different level. It’s kinda quirky and in a whole different way than the one with Gene Wilder.
Theresa: I still like the original better. But Tim Burton updated it. He still did a great job. So you still have a year left here at Travis high school?
Aaron: Yeah, that will have a big influence on what I’ll wind up doing in college.
Travis High School's production of GODSPELL.
Interview with Daniel Colvin
Daniel in Travis High School’s production of Godspell
By Theresa Pisula
HoustonTheatre.com
theresa@houstontheatre.com
Daniel Colvin, a sophomore, has been in Annie, The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet, UIL OAP Lovers and Executioners, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, In a Grove and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In his spare time he enjoys karate, guitar, piano, participating in boy scouts, and his church youth group.
Theresa: Tell us about the part that you’re playing.
Daniel: My character is kinda goofy. He is always telling jokes, sort of the comedian of the group. Actually my character was based off of one of my friends, the costumes and everything. His name is Kent Strason and he’s my age.
Theresa: Your make-up and your presence onstage is something I would describe as more gothic. I saw you and I thought Marilyn Manson (laughs).
Daniel: Yeah it kind of contradicted my character but it helped me during the emotional parts.
Theresa: Is your friend Kent pretty gothic as well?
Daniel: He dresses Goth (laughs) but he is fun.
Theresa: So you went to town as far as this role.
Daniel: Yeah, it was fun to do. I was a character who was always going after Josephine who was kind of the tramp of the group.
Travis High School's production of GODSPELL.
Theresa: Can you give me a quote from the musical?
Daniel: There was a part where Jesus told me that “It’s better to lose one part of your body than for the whole to be turned into hell.” My response is, “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard. Ghhh-aawwd!” So I was imitating…
Theresa: Napoleon Dynamite, of course. Besides Napoleon Dynamite, who else did you draw form to create your performance?
Daniel: There was a part where Josephine and I had to do a little 3 Stooges thing, so, Groucho Marx as well. But other than that it was pretty much all just based on my friend.
Theresa: (Laughs) that is so creative! Do you normally dress Goth?
Daniel: No. I’ve got blonde hair…
Theresa: And you dyed it totally black for the show. You painted your nails black, which you normally don’t paint your nails, do you?
Daniel: No (laughs).
Theresa: This is just for the show! How cool is that? And the makeup is Goth, and normally you wear glasses.
Daniel: Sam (Samantha Rice), another one of our cast members did our makeup because it’s similar to her day to day makeup.
Theresa: Who do you want to dedicate this performance to?
Daniel: I really enjoy working with Aaron (Hlavaty) especially during this show because he’s always helped me with my roles.
Theresa: How long did it take for you to prepare for this role?
Daniel: Getting into character wasn’t that difficult because I already knew my character pretty well. But working, practicing, I practiced the music especially at home a lot because that was one of the more technical parts of the musical that you really can’t get away from.
Theresa: So, you got sick as well, just like your other cast mates.
Daniel: Yeah, I’m actually getting better.
Theresa: You did a great performance, you stood out. I love your shirt especially. Freddie Mercury and Queen rule!
Haley Thurman
Interview with Haley Thurman and Reade Burke
Starring as Haley and Reade in Travis High School’s production of Godspell
By Theresa Pisula
HoustonTheatre.com
theresa@houstontheatre.com
In Travis High School’s production of Godspell, besides having interviewed the guys who turned out to be such high school hunks and hotties, I had the wonderful opportunity to interview 2 of the most breathtakingly beautiful young ladies. I came to the conclusion that Travis High School is so babe-licious in that not only is it filled with such talented performers they do not fall short on these gorgeous actresses either. First off was Haley Thurman, a tall, statuesque junior who starred as Philostrate in last year's production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. During the interview, Mr. Kyle Martin happened to walk in the room.
Theresa: Tell us about the character that you played in Godspell.
Haley: I just kinda made her like a really hyper girl. I got the fuzzy boots so I made it like everything was really exciting.
Travis High School's production of GODSPELL.
Theresa: How did you start preparing for your role?
Haley: After a couple of week’s rehearsal, I got used to reading the script.
Theresa: How do you like it?
Haley: I thought it was great. In the beginning, I didn’t want to do it. As Mr. Martin walks in (laughs). I was like, “I don’t want to do this,” because I didn’t get a big part but then…
Theresa: You weren’t in theatre before?
Haley: I wasn’t in it last year. I was more into sports last year. This year I got into theatre because Mr. Martin made me.
Theresa: (Laughs).
Kyle Martin: Okay now I’m gonna leave.
Theresa: What inspired you to get into theatre? I mean, besides Mr. Martin (laughs).
Haley: My brother Trace Thurman was in theatre throughout his high school. My freshman year was at Austin High School and I did Tech there. And then last year I was tech a little bit.
Theresa: Are you originally from Houston?
Haley: I was born in Louisiana and then my dad moved to Houston when I was really young so I don’t even remember living over there. I grew up here pretty much.
Theresa: You guys did a great performance. I mean you guys did a lot of harmonizing…
Haley: It was hard.
Theresa: How were the rehearsals?
Haley: We stayed until 5pm every day. There were times when I was like, “Oh my God, I really don’t want to be here.” But it really paid off. Like after the first performance, it was so fun. It was all worth it.
Theresa: So, after the first performance last Thursday, you saw how rewarding it was performing in front of a crowd after doing all that hard work.
Haley: Because they were like, “You need more energy, you need more energy.” They told us that right before we came on. And then during intermission, after the First Act, “That was the most fun I have ever had doing this!” We were all energetic and excited because there’s an audience, they laughed at what we were doing. It was like one complete silence during rehearsals. It was great.
Theresa: (Laughs) by the way, you are beautiful. I mean your high cheekbones. Did you ever want to be a model?
Haley: When I was little because I was always taller than everybody.
Theresa: You’re very pretty, your long straight blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes.
Haley: Thank you.
Theresa: Is theatre something you’d want to do in your senior year and beyond?
Haley: Definitely.
Theresa: Really?
Haley: Just because it’s fun to do. It’s fun to be onstage.
Theresa: Who do you want to dedicate your performance to?
Haley: My grandma. She’s in Louisiana and she’s been sick. She's just gonna watch the video we took of the show.
Reade Burke
Theresa: Next is an interview with another stunning blue–eyed, blonde named Reade Burke. Reade is seventeen years old and a junior at Travis high school. She has participated in theatre since her freshman year. In her spare time she also sings in the choir. Can you tell us about the part that you played in the musical Godspell?
Reade: I’m sure you know we play ourselves. My character, she was a little slow at first, she didn’t understand some things. But then she catches on and she sings the song of Jesus - By My Side which is about dedicating your life to Jesus. And she wants to follow Him.
Theresa: How did you prepare for this character?
Reade: When we got the script, I try and figure out what my character would think. Like, what would she do in certain situations?
Theresa: You did a great job onstage. Did you find this role challenging?
Reade: This role was pretty hard. But I’m in choir so I do a lot of singing.
Theresa: Is theatre something you want to pursue after high school?
Reade: No, it’s just something I like to do. I like to sing and have fun. My friends are here so…
Theresa: that makes it all better, right? Are you originally from Houston?
Reade: I was born in Houston and then we moved to Richmond, where I live now.
Theresa: Who do you want to dedicate your performance to?
Reade: My mom because she always takes me everywhere.
Theresa: Well, you did a great performance. I'm sure your mom and your whole family is very proud of you.
Travis High School's production of GODSPELL.