“Hairspray” Latest Example of PPP Alumni Continuing Tradition

 

Hairspray director Ashleigh Williams shows Maclean Mayers a few steps during rehearsal.

Everyone has a dream. Ask Ashleigh Williams and she’ll tell you one of her dreams was to direct the musical at the Poplar Pike Playhouse. Williams’ dream becomes reality when Hairspray opens at the PPP Thursday, February 20th.

“It’s amazing to be back at Germantown and to also be back at the Poplar Pike Playhouse teaching,” said Williams, a GHS theatre graduate and former GHS teacher who returned this year after eight years at Briarcrest Christian School. “Being a student here, and now teaching here is amazing. It feels like I’m coming home.”

Playhouse alumni returning to Germantown High as teachers is nothing new. In fact, seven current fine arts faculty members graduated from Germantown’s nationally renowned program. It’s become near tradition for students who were trained at the PPP to give back to the place that gave them so much.

“This is now our second time around working together,” said Allison Rogers Long, GHS alumni and Fine Arts Department chairman. “It’s crazy to think that at one time neither of us thought we would be working together let alone back at where we went to school.”

Patrick Lee Ashbee and Kirie Walz were both students when Williams first taught at GHS from 2001-2004. Now fine art teachers themselves, both play crucial roles in Hairspray. Ashbee is the associate director and Walz is the costume designer. Both have vivid memories of their time with Williams, as students and now as co-workers.

“It was a little weird at first. Working alongside any past teacher would throw someone off, but to be able to work with one of my former teachers is an experience I will always remember,” said Ashbee.

“We collaborate extremely well,” said Walz. “While I spend most of my time up in the costume room, I have never had as much fun on a musical than I have had on this show working and directing with Ashleigh.”

Williams decided to leave Germantown in 2005 and became a trailblazer of sorts at Briarcrest Christian School. She built Briarcrest’s theatre program from the ground up.

“When I first arrived at Briarcrest I was the first full time theatre teacher they had ever had. I had only three classes so it was difficult finding kids who wanted to be onstage and act,” said Williams. “Over time though, I found that instead of myself motivating the kids, the kids were motivating me to do the big shows and to be the best that we can be.”

She tackled difficult shows such as Beauty and the Beast, Les Misérables, Anything Goes and Tarzan: The Musical. These four productions alone garnered 34 nominations from The Orpheum Theatre’s High School Musical Awards. Briarcrest brought home 13 wins, including Best Director, which Williams won for her work on Les Misérables.

With a track record as impressive as Williams’, leaving Briarcrest was no easy decision. But for Williams it was about more than where she was, it was about where she came from.

“I loved my time at Briarcrest, but returning to Germantown just seemed right,” said Williams. “ From being a student to becoming a teacher, the PPP is just home.”

Hairspray opens at the Poplar Pike Playhouse February 20 and runs through March 8. The Poplar Pike Arts Guild, the support group for the Playhouse, will sponsor a special opening night performance and reception on February 20. Reservations for this benefit event can be made by calling the box office at (901) 755-7775 between 7:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets for all other nights can be purchased through the box office or online at ppp.org. Blocks of tickets are available at reduced rates for school groups and theatre parties. Contact the box office or visit our website for more information.

The corporate sponsor for this production is Landmark Bank.

For coupon codes, the latest updates and fun extras from the cast and crew follow the Poplar Pike Playhouse on Facebook and Twitter (@ppptheatre).

The Poplar Pike Playhouse is the theatre complex located on the campus of Germantown High School.

Student Stories – Kaylynn Coulter: It takes more than two!

Hello!

Opening night is getting closer and closer, 3 weeks away to be exact! Ads are due really soon and I’m proud to say I sold all $595 I was supposed to and I even went over a little bit!

Every aspect in this show is a lot of work and requires a lot of help! Everyday after school I have rehearsal, so during 6th period I try to help costumes whenever I can. Putting on a large, elaborate musical like this requires everyone’s help and takes a lot of time and effort.

In rehearsals we’ve been redoing some of the choreography in “Good Morning Baltimore” and “Welcome to the 60’s” to make them bigger and better! Mr. Danielson is here everyday making sure we sing loud and beautiful in our harmonies. It’s been a busy, tiring week but it will all pay off on opening night!

Talk to you later,

Kaylynn

Student Stories – Kaylynn Coulter: Let’s Be Bold

Music director Steve Danielson takes the Hairspray cast through the 1st rehearsal.

Sing louder!

That seems to be the message this week in rehearsal. With Mrs. Williams out sick with the flu, Mr. A has been in rehearsal working on scenes and dances with us. This past Friday’s rehearsal was all choral with Mr. D, our music director. Saturday we worked on all the dances and began working on scenes. I really enjoy the part of rehearsal when we run through the dances, although I have realized how difficult it is to dance and sing at the same time. It’s really cool seeing how everyone is beginning to develop their characters and how they incorporate their character into the dances. Everyday I feel more and more confident with the dances and I can’t stop singing all the songs!

With more fun to come,

– Kaylynn Coulter

Broadway Talent Teaches “Hairspray” Cast

Local product Whitney Branan works with students at the Poplar Pike Playhouse on their upcoming production of Hairspray. Branan, who was the tap coach on Broadway for Billy Elliot, spent a week with the Germantown High students choreographing their show that opens on February 20.

Local theatre product Whitney Branan has worked on and all around Broadway. When she returned home recently to choreograph the Poplar Pike Playhouse’s upcoming production of Hairspray, this former Mid-South resident said she saw a lot of similarities between her professional clients and the Germantown High thespians.

“As far as I’m approaching it, there is no difference between the professional actors I work with, and the students here at the PPP,” says Branan. “I treat myself and everyone in the cast as a professional, and I haven’t found a reason to treat them any differently.”

Branan was destined for career in fine arts from a young age. Her mother put her in dance lessons at the age of two, and she was belting out music notes long before she ever thought of Broadway. Her high school years were spent at the Hutchison School. She also trained extensively with Elizabeth Anne Brown at Performing Arts of Germantown.

Branan eventually took her talents to New York City. There she worked on countless shows, but her crowning achievement so far has been earning the role of head tap coach for Broadway’s Billy Elliot. Branan also earned a feature role in the major motion picture The Blind Side.

“Working on Billy Elliot was incredible,” says Branan. “Everyone on Broadway is the best, and it was amazing seeing them showcase their talent day in and day out.”

While living and performing in New York, she continues to return home to work on local productions. In fact, this isn’t Branan’s first time at the Poplar Pike Playhouse. Branan choreographed the world premiere of Changing Minds at the PPP in 2011. This also isn’t her first experience with Hairspray. She played the conniving blond bombshell Amber Von Tussle at Playhouse on the Square.

“Hairspray has always had a special place in my heart,” says Branan. “It’s one of my favorite musicals of all time, from the songs to the choreography. It’s all amazing.”

Branan says working on a show at the PPP is an experience like no other. Ashleigh Williams, the PPP director of Hairspray, believes Branan is exactly what the students need for a fantastic show.

“Knowing Whitney since she was a little girl, it just seems right for her to be back working at the PPP,” says Williams. “Whitney and I grew up at the same dance studio and I knew then she was destined for great things. Seeing her passion for these kids and the art itself is unbelievable!”

Hairspray opens at the Poplar Pike Playhouse February 20 and runs through March 8. Tickets go on sale January 27. The Poplar Pike Arts Guild, the support group for the Playhouse, will sponsor a special opening night performance and reception on February 20. Reservations for this benefit event can be made by calling the box office at (901) 755-7775 between 7:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets for all other nights can be purchased through the box office or online at ppp.org. Blocks of tickets are available at reduced rates for school groups and theatre parties. Contact the box office or visit our website for more information. Landmark Bank is the corporate sponsor for this production.

For coupon codes, the latest updates and fun extras from the cast and crew, follow the Poplar Pike Playhouse on Facebook and Twitter.

The Poplar Pike Playhouse is the theatre complex located on the campus of Germantown High School.

Student Stories – Kaylynn Coulter: Onstage Debut

Council Mother Kaylynn Coulter, right, listens to directions during a notes session of a recent rehearsal for Hairspray.

Before I begin blogging, let me introduce myself. My name is Kaylynn Coulter and I’m a junior at GHS. I play a council mother in our upcoming musical, Hairspray. When I auditioned I was really nervous but I did my best at singing the song and when I saw I got a callback for dance auditions I was nervous but excited. After what seemed forever I looked on the PPP’s Facebook page and saw my name on the cast list. The rest is history. This is my debut role in a PPP production and I couldn’t be more excited! For Fools I was a house manager and part of the costume crew, so it’s very exciting and different to be onstage rather than backstage. This is my first year in the production class and I’m really enjoying myself. Although at times I feel overwhelmed and stressed, I love being part of the PPP and GHS-TV.

During our first week of rehearsals we learned the dances of Hairspray with the amazingly-talented choreographer Whitney Branan. We only had one week to work with Ms. Whitney, so we had to learn the dances quickly. Besides taking ballet and tap when I was very young, I have no dancing background. Going into dance rehearsals made me very nervous, but with some practice at home and all the rehearsals so far I feel much more confident! While we improve and perfect the choreography, we also are rehearsing songs with Mr. Danielson and beginning to start blocking with Mrs. Williams, the director of the show. I will keep you updated on what new elements have come our way in rehearsal as we piece the show together . Be sure to buy your tickets for opening night on February 20th! They go on sale January 27.

– Kaylynn Coulter