By Victoria Mejicanos
AFRO Staff Writer
vmejicanos@afro.com
In the heart of West Baltimore sits Coppin State University, with its hidden jewel of a theatre program tucked inside. The program has become an engine of creativity and community, teaching students about their craft and themselves by integrating them into the neighborhood surrounding the university.
“We try to marry what we do to the needs of the community,” said Dr. Garey Hyatt, who has worked at Coppin State University for 20 years and serves as the program coordinator for the visual and performing arts division in the Department of Humanities.
Many of Coppin’s productions touch on themes that directly impact Baltimore, including homelessness, organ donation, incarceration and police brutality. After each show, the university hosts “talkbacks” to help audiences discuss these topics and connect with resources.
Their most recent production, “She a Gem,” follows the story of a competitive young women’s double-dutch jump rope team in Baltimore.
Hyatt shared that in conjunction with this production, the school’s Cary Beth Cryor Art Gallery is hosting an exhibition titled “Rooted in Joy,” which contains art from students and professionals.
“Particularly in times like this, we need to remember what gives us joy, what brought us joy and how we recapture joy,” said Hyatt.
Jada Thomas, a sophomore theatre student who plays the role of Simone in the production, said talkbacks are a tool for learning.
“That’s a big part of why I became an actor in the first place, because I want people to see our performances,” said Thomas. “I want people to see me perform, and I want them to leave differently.”
For alumna Tracie Jiggets, the theatre program helped her find her voice. The interdisciplinary artist who graduates next month said she fell in love with Coppin after sitting in on a class with a friend who was attending at the time.
“Today I am a full-time artist in every sense of the word,” she said. “I have seen Coppin teach me, but also nurture me.”
Jiggets, who graduates in December, has authored a book, teaches musical theatre, and works as a program specialist for Ballet after Dark. For each opportunity Jiggets has worked towards, Coppin has lent a hand.
“Coppin is great at understanding the voice of its students and meeting them where they are,” she said.
Larry Gill is a senior theatre student that works behind the scenes on productions and has aspirations of focusing on stage lighting for his career. As a North Carolina native, Gill said Coppin was not initially on his radar, but it drew him in because it was a smaller HBCU. Despite its smaller size, there aren’t any fewer opportunities, he’s found.
“I’m so happy I chose this because I chose right,” said Gill.
Gill says the department has always pushed him creatively and personally. In his first semester, he completed an internship at The Ensemble Theatre in Texas — an opportunity freshmen rarely receive.
Also, recently Gill was accepted into the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, which selects only 25 students each year. He credits Coppin’s close-knit structure and strong network for helping him get there. “This department just has so many hidden gems and so many different connections,” he said.
What Gill said he enjoys most about the program is how interdisciplinary it is. Every student at Coppin has a hand in every aspect of a production.
“It really sticks in my heart that everybody comes in doing everything,” Gill said. “We’re a very small department but we’re very mighty.”
Gill, who currently serves as the 25th Mr. Coppin State University, sees representing the school as an extension of his love for the program.
“I love, live, breathe Coppin State University,” he said.
For Rashida Foreman-Bey, returning to school as an older student was intimidating at first, but she found that Coppin acted as a “safe haven” for students.
Foreman-Bey said the intergenerational nature of the program helped all students. Younger students taught her new technology and new ways of thinking, and she offered them wisdom in a non-boastful way.
Known in the community as “Mama Rashida,” Foreman-Bey has her own company called WombWork productions, established in 1997, and she mentors young people like Louis Williams III, who told the AFRO he was inspired by her to attend Coppin. What kept him there was the community.
“Coppin is very much a community-centered school,” said Williams III. He said professors gave assignments that required students to explore neighborhoods, talk to residents, and engage directly with the city around them. “A lot of times a college wants to pull you away from the surrounding community… Coppin leaned into it.”