It’s ‘Back to Past’ for Thibodaux drama team

Black History Month is being celebrated in dramatic fashion by the REC Youth Choir Drama Team in Thibodaux.

The troupe is putting on the play “Back to the Past” on Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center (314 St. Mary St. near downtown Thibodaux) at 1 p.m.

Admission is free.

Following the performance will be a show of African dances and songs. The event will also have readings of speeches that have been given by Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama.

In the play, five young students sitting in a classroom meet six famous African-American historical figures, including Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Marcus Garvey.

The students are dissatisfied because their history books do not contain enough information about African-American history.

The figures from the past appear to the students when they stay after school, telling the young people to “seek the truth.”

The Rejubilation Evangelical Community already had an adult choir and decided to form a youth choir in April.

Some of the members of the youth choir had an interest in theater, but had never participated in putting on a play, said drama team director Olinda Ricard.

Ricard enrolled in acting classes at Nicholls State University to learn about staging plays.

Now, after rehearsals for “Back to the Past,” the drama team is eager for more. Ricard has several more scripts in hand.

The REC holds auditions every Tuesday at the Acadian Cultural Center from 5 to 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend to learn about African culture.

Since admission is free, Ricard said she is seeking advertisers for the play booklet to raise money for the program. Call her at (985) 227-7205 for more information.