Quinn Taylore’s desire to create opportunities for himself and others sparked the idea for the Fine Fine Fine showcase, which premiered to a full house on Sept. 12.
A Fine Fine Fine showcase is a play that follows high school students who rebel against their teacher after being restricted to performing only white theater works. To push back, they create a showcase that reflects their experiences as Black teenagers.
Taylore wrote Act I and portions of Act II. For the showcase within the play, he incorporated pieces from other shows that connected to the students’ message. The musical numbers were also from a variety of plays.
“We are students who feel like we aren’t always able to tell the stories we want to tell. We don’t always have the resources or the outlet to do so,” Taylore said.
Alongside the showcase, music majors performed a live pre-show, while visual art students presented a gallery of their work.
“The theme of the night is the underground, unveiling the unseen and the unheard. There’s a little bit of protest theatre-esque to it,” Taylore said.
The production showcases the Black experience within these high school students and showcases why it’s important to perform it.
“Seeing these kids experience juggling the trials and tribulations, the repercussions and ultimately, what is more important? The possibility of getting in trouble or your soul, your artistry, telling your truth,” Taylore said.
From the performance, Taylore wants the audience to feel “encouraged and enabled to take their career and lives into their own hands.”
Everett Judd, a senior acting major, took on the role of dramaturg and assistant director. He ensured that actors understood the story they were telling.
As dramaturg, he facilitated conversations to help the actors better understand the themes.
Through sessions with the actors, Judd said he discussed the show’s themes and how both actors and their characters could connect to them, using art to challenge the status quo.
Judd wanted to communicate the topics in a way that was easy and accessible for performers.
He expressed the joy he felt when working with creatives from all departments.
“It is always a joy to collaborate with student-creatives who are passionate about their craft.”
Rickey Fondren III, who played Jaxon, a character who wants to challenge what the conventions of a Black man is supposed to be, said it is important to find one’s voice as a Black artist in theater. He said the showcase centered on artistic autonomy for Black artists.
“It is important to me to tell this story because we live in a time where this country wants to cover up and stifle black stories and voices,” he said. The showcase shows the passion the students have to express their artistic voices.
Fondren said working with creatives across different departments was a new experience. He emphasized how significant it was to include all areas of COFA.
“I cherished being able to lean on them for unmastered skills and to be someone to lean on as well,” he said.
Frondren hopes people see themselves through the lens of the characters on stage, he said, especially through his own performance.
“I want young Black men to see themselves in the character of Jaxon, to see that there is power and strength in vulnerability, and that’s part of what makes you a man,” he added.
Copy edited by D’Nyah Jefferson – Philmore
