CMU alumna Chanté Adams, who notably was a high school drama student of 2016 Excellence in Theatre Education Award Winner, Marilyn 'MC' McCormick of Detroit, this year returns as an ambassador. (Adams appeared in the August Wilson play, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" and currently stars in the Netflix movie, "Roxanne, Roxanne," and the feature film, "Monsters and Men.") Adams also will serve as CMU's alumni representative on this year's award-selection committee.
2 comments:
What an incredible award. I think this award has been a long time coming and I’m so glad it exists. So many theater lovers find their passion in high school, I know I certainly did. For me, theater saved me from a really dark place and I would never have found it without my amazing teachers. Being a high school teacher is already tough, but getting kids to reach within themselves to find their own voices takes a magical kind of person. It’s so important to acknowledge teachers who not only introduce theater to kids at an important point in their life, but who also provide a safe space for high schoolers. High school can be a very confusing time where you don’t know your place in the world. I believe that theater helps kids find themselves and a great teacher guides them on the right path and changes their life for the better.
The Excellence in Theatre Education award is always one of my favorite to see presented at the Tony Awards. As students, it is so important for us to recognize and appreciate all the work our educators put in to prepare and teach us. This award recognizes teachers who go above and beyond just that, and the stories they and their students tell are so heartwarming. I remember last year’s award very well. I was well aware of Melody Herzfeld’s work, given how vocal and powerful the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were following the shooting last year. I was moved to tears by the students’ accounts of how well Herzfeld prepared them to take on the world with poise and confidence, and how she helped them find solace in their art. She absolutely deserved to be recognized for her efforts, as do thousands of other teachers out there.
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