After the bubbly ringtone announcing a Google Meet call, playwright Diana Grisanti appeared on a projector screen at Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts.
The Ball State University professor greeted a classroom full of young actors, techs and teachers to answer questions about her play, “Lawbreakers!” The middle schoolers are performing it Nov. 13 and 14.
What was your inspiration for the non-historical characters?
How did you write from the perspective of the African-American community?
How long did it take you to write this play?
Miller South’s production of “Lawbreakers!” is 7 p.m. Nov. 13 and 14. Tickets are $10 at the door. The school is located at 1055 East Ave.
Commissioned by Louisville’s StageOne Family Theatre to write the play as a celebration of the centennial anniversary of women’s right to vote in 1920, Grisanti focused the work not only on the history of the suffrage movement but also on the racism and classism embedded in it, she told the middle schoolers.
“I really wanted the play to be a representation of some of those internal struggles and some of the different ways in which people with good intentions can fight the same fight and have differing opinions on how to fight that fight,” she said.
“So do you go ‘burn everything down’ or do you work within the system?”
Speaking to Grisanti was a unique experience for the students, who saw a glimpse of what inspired the playwright and shaped the scenes they practiced ahead of opening night. The play follows teenage stepsisters Maya and Kiara as they travel back in time to Akron’s 1851 Women’s Convention and a whirlwind of other pivotal events in the suffrage movement. It is the third time Grisanti’s play has been performed.
The stepsisters’ relationship is analogous to the movement’s internal struggle: Maya is invested in the political process while Kiara is more rebellious.
Samiyah Kane, 13, plays Maya — the eighth grader’s first major acting role at Miller South.
“This show isn’t just about women’s suffrage,” Kane said. “It can relate to many problems today, and also the relationship between the sisters — because I know personally I struggle with the relationships with my siblings. … It can also teach you a lesson when it comes to having love and compassion. You never know what someone is going through or has been through.”
Miller South theatre teacher Rachel Kelly chose the play in part because of its Rubber City connection — and its continued significance from a historical and social lens.
“It’s not only about entertainment, but what our students can do to grow,” Kelly said during the discussion with Grisanti. “And I’ve seen not only this group of people growing as artists and really diving into a piece — understanding their character, understanding the historical aspect, but also our entire building [is involved.]”
Acting helps build relationships, bridge history
Kane’s interest area at the specialty arts school is dance — so taking on an acting role is a step outside her comfort zone.
“If you’re not really building chemistry with a cast member, then it’s hard to act with them. … In dance, it’s kind of like you do what you’re told, you kind of do your own thing,” she said. “So it’s definitely different to have to build relationships with other people to create the show to its best.”
Those relationships among the 16 actors and 25 crew members allow the tight-knit group to have tough conversations about race and rights, Kelly said, giving students a chance to share their perspectives and shape the production.
Miller South requires its students to maintain minimum grades and attendance to perform on stage — meaning all of the actors in “Lawbreakers!” get As and Bs in their coursework on top of attending rehearsals and learning lines, Kelly explained.
For some students, like eighth grader Haley Jones, Miller South is part of their heritage. Jones, 13, plays two of the play’s more mature roles: teacher Ms. Dunbar and Granny Ida.
Jones’ parents both attended the art school and now supplement the department’s shoestring budget by volunteering to create costumes and set pieces.
“So many students, and people in general, don’t quite understand how difficult theater is …. These students, not only are they keeping up with their academics, but they’re diving into the historical aspects of what this play is to develop their characters,” Kelly said.
Jones agreed, adding, “You have to, like, forget yourself to become a new person — but also use your own personal experiences to shape that [performance.]”
That performance also relies on historical accuracy — Ryan McCraney’s new specialty.
As half of the play’s dramaturgy team, the seventh grader helps provide context for the play’s actors and directors through research into its historical figures and events.
For example, McCraney, 13, will field questions from directors and cast members about ad-libs and whether they would fit into a scene or about what protest slogans were popular. In the seventh grader’s research, he found suffragists did not chant but often sang political parodies to popular songs.
That research was also the first time he had heard of Akron’s importance in the suffrage movement.
“I didn’t know that Sojourner Truth had the ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ speech here in Akron until read-through on the first day. It shocked me because I really didn’t know it was here, literally down the street,” McCraney said. The abolitionist delivered the speech at the Old Stone Church, now the site of a plaza named in her honor on North High Street.
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Miller South puts students on a new trajectory
Miller South’s productions are open to the entire school, garnering auditions from students of diverse backgrounds and skill levels.
Payton Hodges, 13, co-stars with Kane as Kiara.
She has been in theater classes since she started at Miller South in the fifth grade but admits she did not take it seriously until last year.
“I think something snapped in all of us in the summer that just made us lock in — and I locked in and I’m where I am now,” she said.
Seeing Grisanti speak was a “crazy” experience, the eight grader said, adding she felt it would help guide her performance moving forward.
Students like Hodges are why Miller South exists, Kelly said, tearing up while looking at her smiling student.
“She was a child who did not necessarily have access to the arts and came to Miller South and found not only what she’s gifted in, but a true joy. And her success over the past few years has just dramatically changed and Miller South’s changed the trajectory of her life.
“I see it every single day. This child can be an incredible leader with her peers and her academics, but now she gets to be it on the stage – like as a teacher, she actually makes me cry. Seeing how proud I am of them … it’s like why I do what I do. It’s the countless hours and no money — for these kids.”
