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WWU Theatre performs staged reading of ‘American Prom’ at Sehome High

by Frances Badgett

WWU Communications

At Western Washington University's 2024 Summer Test Kitchen, Sehome High School students, Director of Learning and Inclusion at the Seattle Children’s Theatre Cessalee Smith-Stovall, WWU Professors of Theatre Evan Mueller and Rich Brown, WWU Theatre alumni Ella Newborn and Ian Frank, joined the WWU Theatre Department to fine-tune “American Prom,” a play about teenagers working to bring their town together. 

The hard work and commitment the students showed during STK became a full-circle moment when author Idris Goodwin, Smith-Stovall, WWU Professor of Theatre Evan Mueller, and alumni Newborn and Frank performed a staged reading at Sehome High School on May 20 for students of Sehome High School, Blaine High School and donors to the WWU Theatre Department.

“American Prom,” has traveled to high schools across the state of Washington to spark dialogue, inspire action and celebrate the power of youth theatre.

“The first version wasn’t quite right,” Goodwin told the Sehome and Blaine high school students in the audience. “So I brought it to Summer Test Kitchen.”

WWU Theatre alumni Ella Newborn and Ian Frank performing as Kia B. and Jimmy T.

“American Prom” is about two friends, Jimmy T. and Kia B., who find themselves along a dividing line between the segregated proms in small town of Principal. A tradition that started as a reaction to racism became a tool of racism, in Jimmy and Kia’s experience. They decide to host a unified prom of their own, challenging the town to change what they see as a divisive practice. “American Prom” grapples with issues of queer identity, racial tensions and generational misunderstanding within the context of two families in a small town with an industrial history that is both political and personal.

Donors to the WWU Theatre Department attended, along with students from Blaine High School and Sehome High School. During the talkback, the audience members shared their thoughts and observations about the play. 

“I’m 95 years old, and I’ve seen a lot of barriers fall,” said one donor to the student audience. “It’s up to you now to make sure the rest of the barriers fall as well.”

Read more about Summer Test Kitchen:

Read about Summer Test Kitchen's first screenplay workshop here. Read about WWU's collaboration with Seattle Children's Theatre here. Read about the play "King of the Neuroverse" here. Read about cross-campus collaboration here and WWU's relationship with the Seattle Children's Theatre here. The upcoming Summer Test Kitchen will feature four plays: “Problematic Word Play,” by Idris Goodwin; “Fission” by Cindy Lou Johnson; “Eve’s Ale” by Shannan Allman; and “The Cutter Incident” by Pulitzer Prize Winning playwright Doug Wright. Go here for more information about the sessions and the plays.