Feel-Good Friday is brought to you today by BEETLEJUICE cast member, Jackera Davis
Jackera plays the role of Girl Scout in the national tour of
Beetlejuice, where she also understudies, and has performed, the character of
Lydia Deetz. She holds the distinction of being the first black Lydia. Jackera had
just recently graduated from Sam Houston State University with a BFA in Musical
Theatre when Broadway and Broadway Tours were still adjusting to coming back
after COVID-19. So, her initial auditions for Beetlejuice were through
self-tapes and Zoom because she was still back in Texas. But they flew her out
to NYC for her final callback and the rest is history. Jackera has been with
the tour for almost exactly a year to date.
Broadway Theatre League, through the support of sponsors,
individual donors, and grants, provides workshops to high school theater
students across the Tennessee Valley. Most workshops will be led by cast
members of national touring Broadway shows, like Jackera Davis, and are always
FREE to attend. In addition to the class, workshops include a ticket to the
show and a pizza meal.
Each workshop experience will be different depending on the
show and who is leading the workshop. Sometimes there will be vocal material or
choreography taught from the show that is here on tour. The workshops can
focus on acting, singing, dancing or all of the above.
Jackera started and ended with a Q & A with these
aspiring young talents. This was very helpful in forging a connection between
her and the students as well as inspiration for them from her personal
experience in this business. Next was a group vocal warm-up, which included
walking around the space to release any nervous energy they might be holding on
to. She set them up for success!
For the majority of the workshop Jackera focused on helping
the students find their authentic way with the song they had picked to perform.
Whether they were more adept as actors, singers or dancers she found a way to help
them find their unique specificity with their source material, thus beginning
their confidence about leaving everything out there on the stage to make their
impression on the audience.
Personally, I think this is an incredible opportunity for the
young aspiring artists in Huntsville. I would have given anything to be a part
of something like this when I was at Grissom High School in the “ahem” 1980s.
So for all those “young and hopeful high school Kip Drivers out there” who have
big dreams and don’t know exactly what to do next… SIGN UP FOR THESE
WORKSHOPS!!!
If you’re in high school and love theater (or have one of those kids in your home), this is your NEXT STEP right here:
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