Freedom High School’s Black Student Association, along with its dedicated teacher leaders, proudly presented the second annual Black History Month assembly, a vibrant celebration centered around the theme of black hair.
This year’s event was a play uniquely set in a barbershop and beauty salon, bringing together various groups from across the school to honor and explore the cultural significance of black hair.
“I played a stylist in the play whose goal was to show the diversity and beauty of black hair,” said Kiera Dennison, junior and vice president of BSA.
There were 12 main actors in the play, half being barbers and their clients and the other half being hairstylists and their clients. Each character was given a certain part to display a certain image or message on the history of black hair.
“We had extensive rehearsals including weekends and spent a lot of time with Mrs. Decker as a group working on our roles,” Denison said.
Due to snow days, actors spent a little under a month on this play. This included approximately one hour a day on weekdays and around 3-4 on weekends on rehearsals. Rehearsals consisted of memorizing lines, dance practice, critiques and run-throughs.
“The last week before the final performance was very stressful,” said Basmah Mohommad, junior and BSA actor.
Snow days were anticipated throughout the week leading up to the play, leaving little time for preparation. Student actors had zoom calls on the snow days as well as a five hour dress rehearsal the day before the performance. The day before the play students as well as teachers were rushing around to make sure everything was perfect. This included around five run throughs of the entire performance.
“The theater tech team along with Ms. Wickham helped us make our vision possible and I couldn’t thank them enough for working with us so we could share our story,” said John Shillingford, senior and BSA president.
Chorus, K-pop, and the theater tech team also helped with the assembly.
Chorus performed the song “Stand up” by Cynthia Erivo which included several soloists. K-pop performed a dance with songs dedicated to black hair. The theater tech team provided the BSA students with their materials, designed lighting, and acting guidance.
“All the chaos was worth it in the end,” Dennison said.
