This past week the MSMS campus was full of excitement as Mr. Chuck Yarborough held auditions for the 2018 Tales from the Crypt performance. Every year students compete to participate in this incredible program. This year, fifty-five students from across three sections of US History wrote original performance scripts based upon a semester of primary and secondary document research and then performed those original works as part of the formal audition process. The auditions were scored by a “celebrity” panel of judges consisting of 14 MSMS seniors who participated in Tales last year, 1 Tales alum, Mr. Yarborough, as well the U.S. History classmates.
For those new to MSMS or unfamiliar with the project, Tales from the Crypt is a theatrical performance whereby students from the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science honor those buried in Columbus’ historic Friendship Cemetery. Following a brief overview of Columbus history, US History students select a name of a person buried in Friendship Cemetery who died in the nineteenth or early twentieth century. Students then visit the gravesite of their research subject and conduct significant research to learn about their selected person and his or her life. Students then write a research paper detailing what they learned and connecting that to the larger historical context of that day in time. From there, students write an original monologue script based on their research subject. These monologues become the basis for the Tales from the Crypt candlelight performance in Friendship Cemetery. Performers will tell their stories on the gravesite of their research subject and provide an overview of Columbus and Mississippi history to those in attendance.
Congratulations are in order for the following students selected as dramatic performers for the 28th annual Tales from the Crypt – April 6, 9, 11, & 13 this year.
The Tales from the Crypt performers for 2018 are:
Individual Performances:
Ethan Trapolino
Millie Perdue
Kaelon McNeece
Theresa Ho
Dev Jaiswal
Erin Williams
Darian Bowles
Austin Cosby
Hunter Ladner
Decoration Day Ladies:
Victoria Waller
Amber Means
Sara Scott
Kiera Monroe
Taniya Bland
MacKenzie Umanzor