Richton Park, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Southland College Prep Charter High School’s Group Interpretation team placed first in the IHSA State tournament today at the University of Illinois Springfield.
Southland’s 10-person ensemble earned the state title with its performance of an original 30-minute interpretation of “Hidden Figures,” based on Margot Lee Shetterly’s book and the Oscar-nominated film of the same name. It is the story of a team of African-American women, who as “human computers” at NASA’s Langley, Virginia laboratories are credited with making significant contributions to America’s space race during the pre-computer era of the early 1960s
“The impact of the central messages and themes of ‘Hidden Figures’ has been truly transformative here at Southland College Prep,” Dr Blondean Davis, CEO, said.
Among the Southland College Prep cast who reenacted key scenes in the book and film, “Hidden Figures” are:
- Kapri Echols, senior, who played Katherine Goble Johnson, the NASA ‘human computer’ whose mathematical hand calculations confirmed Col. John Glenn’s trajectory and splashdown during his historic Friendship 7 orbital mission of earth in 1962;
- Tyler McCullar, senior, who portrayed Mary Jackson, a mathematician who crossed numerous hurdles to become NASA’s first black female engineer;
- Noelle Robinson, senior, cast as Dorothy Vaughn, an expert FORTRAN programmer who became the first black supervisor at NASA’s Langley, Virginia laboratories; and
- John Anderson III, senior, and Jalen Causey, sophomore, who played multiple roles in the ensemble’s portrayal of the contributions to America’s space race by African American women mathematicians despite gender and racial segregation.
Other cast members are: Chyna Sanders, senior, Victoria Dean, Dejah Morris and Alayna Hester, juniors and MarKeia Kellogg, sophomore. TaKiyah Brown and Amaia Howard are student directors and Terrance Mayfield provided stage crew support.
