Bringing Drama to ‘The Yard’

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Alcorn State University’s (ASU) newly formed club, The Alcorn Thespians, welcomed students with an interest meeting on October 24th, in the Little Theatre found within the Fine Arts Building. Students participated in various acting exercises and were tasked with taking a script and performing it on stage.

The Alcorn Thespians were formulated after students wanted to branch out from Alcorn’s one semester acting class with Johnny Allen who also teaches Oral Communications at ASU. Influenced by the lack of knowledge about Theatre and Drama, these students planned on how they would start the club. They intended for this group to be for passionate actors and introduce those who are dedicated in fully joining the club.

At the beginning of the meeting students were able to step on stage and introduce themselves. Each student took turns saying who they were, why they wanted to be apart of the organization, and where they wanted to be in five years.

Next, Allen gave students different acting exercises to show them the importance of working together and not to rush their performances. One of the exercises had students mimic each other, while another had them tossing a ball around until the last person doesn’t drop it. When asked about his plans for the club Allen stated, “I want to give the students an outlet to be in a situation where they can gain more confidence. Not only gain more confidence but put them in situations where they can go to different places on this campus and other places such as Port Gibson, Natchez, Jackson, California, and New York.” He has hopes that with this organization he can better train students who want to take acting seriously, make a living from it, and one day become a movie-star.

After the exercises, Allen passed out monologues and asked students to take the words off of the paper. Sophomore Mass Communications major Jaylin Anderson from Fayette, Mississippi performed a comedic monologue about someone who was called onstage and thinks that they have won a huge prize. At the end of the act the character didn’t really win anything and made a fool of himself. Anderson maintained his audience’s attention with funny movements and silly ad-libs and remarks. Not one person had a frown on their face and each person laughed consistently throughout his performance.

A’Miracle S. Davis, a Freshman Early Childhood Education major from Canton, Mississippi, was also in attendance and was eager to hear the news of a new acting group on campus. She expressed that, “I really enjoyed this event. It was more than I expected. I hope to gain confidence, friendships, and a bond with others once I leave here. I hope it can lead to more opportunities.”

The Thespians hope to be able to travel to different places within the near future and are already planning bigger and better things. Students who are interested in joining aren’t required to have any acting experience, however, they must be ready to learn and to “break a leg!” If you are interested, be sure to check out their social media pages @alcornthespians on Twitter and Instagram.