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MUSIC Ppianist plans to win Augusta audiences with unique style
By Eileen Rivers
AUGUSTA FOCUS Stafl Writer
AUGUSTA
Thirty-three-year-old
Awadagin Pratt 1s far from
the “typical” concert pianist
His Bob Marley dreads re
mind many of the sixties
musician, a man who was
obviously more influenced by
Jamaican rhythm than
Brahms
For concerts, Pratt has ex
changed the traditional coat
tails and bow tie for color
fully patterned t-shirts and
slacks. His unique physical
approach (he s described as
having a “go-cart driver's”
posture) while sitting at the
piano, surely sends many
purists and nay-sayers to his
recitals, if only to see if his
strange combination of idio
syncrasies can actually work
on a concert stage. Yet, de
spite all the trend-seeking
disbelievers, and critics who
say he s “too individual,” his
playing has constantly proven
to be as stimulating to the
mind, as ilt is pleasing to the
SONSEs
Augusta Mini Theatre pays tribute to
MLK with performance at Augusta State
Ondanuary 14, at 1030 a.m
and 8 p.m_and January 15, at
3:30 and 8 p.m. at the Grover
C. Maxwell Performing Arts
Theater on the campus of Au
gusta State University, the
Augusta Mimi Theatre, Inc
will pay tribute to the late Dr
Martin Luther King, Jr., for
his contribution to civil rights,
and Mariah Butler-Combs,
J C Taylor, and the late James
L. “Jimmy” Starks for their
contribution to the success of
the Augusta Mini Theatre
with the revised and the re
staging of the play, “Before
And After The Storm.”
The play, a work in progress
for the past five years by
Tyrone J. Butler, is based on
tdeas about the consequences
of too early relationships and
lack of knowledge about the
importance of school among
teens as expressed by former
teenage students of the Au
gusta Mini Theatre (Jonathan
Mallett, Tanya Downs, Tina
Brown, Jeffrey Lacy,
Chantrice Elam, Diane Moss,
Monica Mills, Jerrick Ayers
and Derrick Mitchell).
“Before And After The
Storm” does not mention Dr.
King, but it does present one
of the issues he stood for —a
“Quality Education” for all.
JANUARY 6, 2000
4
W
iy .
.
Awadagin Pratt
His daring, original ap
proach has catapulted him to
the top of his field, and made
him one of the few
up-and-coming concert musi
cians who have built a strong
national and international fol
lowing. He has been praised
as “one young artist with the
talent and strength of charac
ter to make his mark,” and
soon will be leaving his indel
ible brand on Augusta classi
cal music lovers
His rise to stardom has been
in many ways just as odd as
But in the play, Nickie and
Erica, two middle school stu
dents, once quite studious
prior to entering middle
school, ignore their opportu
nity at aquality education and
instead, turn their attention
to pursuing boys
The girls end up dropping
out of school
Ten vears later, in Act 11, we
learn what price Nickie and
Erica paid for turning their
back on getting an education.
The play provides some in
sight into teenagers’ rational
ization in choosing relation
ships over education.
“Before And After The
Storm” boasts a veteran vouth
cast (ages 10-19) with 2 to 8
years of drama training and
performance at the Augusta
Mini Theatre under the tute
lage of the Theatre's artistic
director, Judith Simon-Butler.
The play is being directed
by Tyrone J. Butler.
The cast is led by Sherica
Hall who plays the role of
Erica’s mother, Miss. Sherica,
a ten year drama student, is
remembered mostiy for her
roles with the Theatre as Dor
othyin The Wiz,” and Punkie
in “Who's Killing The Dream”;
Nicole Williams, a three year
drama student at the Theatre,
AUGUSTA yOCUS
Pratt will perform
Saturday (Janu
ary 8), 8 p.m. and
Sunday (January
9), 3 p.m. at ASU’s
Maxwell Perform
ing Arts Theater
his playing style. At the age of
16, the Pittsburgh native
graduated from high school,
and attended the University
of Illinois, where he took on a
full load, studying piano, vio
lin, and conducting. After
about three years, he entered
Baltimore's Peabody Conser
vatory of Music, seeking a more
concentrated music environ
ment.
“Umiversity of Hlhinois was
geared more toward music
education,” Pratt commented.
“There were people there that
will play Nickie and Anastacia
Del Valle, asix year drama stu
dent will be seen as Erica,
when Erica was in middle
school; Deborah Richardson,
last seen as Fosteen in “Street
Story,” will be seen as Penny
Marshall; Felicia Curry, will
play Nickie as an adult and
Keena Aldrich will play the
adult Erica; Jamal Walters, a
five year stage actor will ap-
pear as Marcus;
Antwaine Hinton,
Mr. Augusta Mini
Theatre, will revisit
his last year’s role,
Terry. Antwaine
played Little Pouchie
in “Boys Talking”;
The role of Keith will
be played by Martin
Jenkins. Martin was
last seen as Jess in
“Street Story”, The
role of James will be
played by Phillip
Jenkins; and Alison
Wilson will appear as
Nickie's mother,
Mary.
Additional roles
will be played by chil
dren actors, Aresha
Freeman (Miss Au
gusta Mini Theatre),
Angel Savage, jas
mine Wilkins,
could play as well as me, but
their concentration was not
on the same thing.”
Despite warnings that he
was spreading himselftoo thin,
Pratt was true to form, and
continued to study all three
aisciplines, enhightening many
on the value of each. Doing
that, taught him that there is
no “absolute right or wrong,
only points-of-view,” said
Pratt
“Iwould be playing the same
work, first on violin, then on
piano. It was hike ' Wow!' There
1s somuch beauty, and somany
ways to see it,” he added
In '92, Pratt won the
Naumberg International Pi
ano Competition, which he
decided to enter at the last
minute. That competition
brought a $5,000 purse, and
the prestige that thrust Pratt
into the national spothght.
Since then, the concert pia
nist has plaved in national and
worldwide venues, including
the White House, at the invi
tation of President and Mrs
Chinton. In '96 he made his
debut in Japan with recitals in
Osaka, and Tokyo's Suntory
Sanquel Sampson and
Samantha Sampson. The en
tire cast makes up the
Theatre’s newly formed Per
formance Company which is
presently touring “The Magic
Of Poetry.”
Tickets, $7.50 general ad
mission and $5 50 for youth
groups consisting of 10 or more
are presently on sale at the
Augusta Mini Theatre from
‘ 71
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Hall. During a performance
in South Africa, nght after the
end of apartheid, Pratt had
the privilege of dining with
Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Pratt's 1999-2000 season
also includes recitals at the
Kennedy Center, the New Jer
sey Performing Arts Center's
Prudential Hall and the Ber
muda Festival Since '94 he
has released four albums A
Long Way From Normal. Live
from South Africa, an
all-Beethoven Sonata, and a
new album which includes
Mussorgsky's, “Pictures at an
Exhibition,” the Brahms
“Variation on a Theme by
Handel, Op 24" and his own
transcription of Bach's
“Passacagha and Fugue, BWV
582"
Pratt will perform with the
Augusta Symphony in the
Master Works Concert at
ASU's Maxwell Performing
Arts Theater on Saturday. Jan
8, at 8 p.m_, and at the Family
Concerton Sunday Jan 9 at 3
p.m. His concerts will include
possible selections from Grieg,
Beethoven, and Mozart's Py
ano Concerto No 23
10am t03:30 pm and from
4pm to 7 pm at the Grover
C Maxwell Performing Arts
Theater's box office
Tickets will, also. be on sale
at the door before each show
For more information
about the play, and the Au
gusta Mini Theatre, call 706-
722-0598 or visat the theatre
at 430 Bth Street, Augusta,
GA.
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