Choir Boy

Artistic Director David Muse kicked off the first rehearsal event for Choir Boy by outlining the relationship of playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney and Studio Theatre. At the age of 34, McCraney is arguably one of the most celebrated, awarded, and important voices in the American theatre. McCraney is most well-known for his trilogy The Brother/Sister Plays, all three of which have received individual productions at Studio Theatre. Muse also introduced and welcomed director Kent Gash to Studio for the first time. Gash collaborated with McCraney on early developmental readings of Choir Boy, and McCraney personally recommended Gash as a director when Studio was assembling the production’s artistic team.

Tarell Alvin McCraney writes at the intersection of culture and history. His work is characterized by rich emotional landscapes and lyrical, character-driven language. In the three dramas that comprise his acclaimed triptych The Brother/Sister Plays, ancient West African myths inform contemporary stories of redemption, devastation, and discovery on the Louisiana bayou. His drama Head of Passes draws from the Book of Job to explore faith and family in the wake of a natural disaster.

At 33 years old, Tarell Alvin McCraney has skyrocketed to fame. His plays are produced on stages around the world, his adaptations are praised, and his awards include a residency with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2008, election to the Steppenwolf Theatre Company Ensemble in 2010, and a prestigious MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” Fellowship in 2013. But in McCraney’s eyes, success is not measured in accolades, but in achievements; awards only matter if “the award buoys the work—makes it more fascinating to people, more acceptable.” 

The songs that the five members of choir sing in Choir Boy alternatively amplify and run counterpoint to the mood and situations of the play, sometimes revealing an emotional reality and other times injecting a humor into the play’s investigation of coming of age.

The choir is at once a unified collective and highly stratified ensemble, as its structure requires the organization and constant reconfiguration of vocal parts to create harmony. A conductor or choirmaster decides upon music to sing, leads rehearsals, and conducts the singers at every step from practice to performance.

Studio Theatre’s student matinee program provides local area students with the experience of live, intimate, contemporary theatre—and also enriches students' learning by offering support materials and interactive workshops. Education Apprentice Kaitlyn McElrath spoke with Capital City Public Charter School instructor Jill Weiler about her class’s response to Choir Boy and the connections her students made between the play's events and characters and their own lives and experiences.