The Pluff Mud Players, a student group from Charleston’s Trinity Montessori School, returns to Piccolo Spoleto Festival for a second time to perform a staged adaptation of Benjamin Britten’s children’s choral composition, The Golden Vanity, as part of “Stand Tall: Celebrating South Carolina’s Role in America’s Independence.”
The performance will take place May 28 at 3 p.m. at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.
The complexity of the work makes this an ambitious project for young performers. But production director Edward Jackson — a music teacher and co-head of school at Trinity — has a background in choral performance and a love of the form that allows him to bring these stories to life.
Jackson has been a part of the choral world his whole life, including singing with the elite Atlanta Boys’ Choir.
Jackson’s background in and passion for music was the driving force behind the choice to move forward with the project.
“I was a little rural kid who got a chance whose life got changed from being in the boy choir,” Jackson said. “Coming from a farm, it was a different world. It taught me a lot about the world.”
Jackson adapted this version of The Golden Vanity to align with the festival’s America 250 theme.. The performance will reference the nation’s 250th birthday and connect to South Carolina’s role in the American Revolution. The Pluff Mud Players will also perform songs about South Carolina.
Jackson also incorporated lessons about the history of South Carolina into the school’s curriculum so students could appreciate and understand the story they were performing.
“These songs talked a little bit about the history, both good and bad, of South Carolina,” Jackson said. “I assigned them different parts of the history of South Carolina, and all their skits connected to that. We would go on field trips in relation to it. They got to live it.”
For sixth grader Omar Ramberan, performing in the production and learning that history deepened his connection to Britten’s composition and to his hometown.
“It definitely helped me appreciate everything because we’re in a historic city, so it’s fun to learn about that history and then do an opera connected to it,” Omar said.
Preparing for the performance while balancing school and other responsibilities was a worthwhile experience, the 12-year-old said.
“I decided to participate because, well, why wouldn’t I participate? It’s a fun thing to do,” Omar explained. “Music is a fun activity, and the reward for finishing the opera feels unlike anything else.”
The challenging production is especially suited to a Montessori program, which emphasizes experiential learning and cooperation, Jackson said.
“The cool thing about Montessori kids, and they’re so unique, is that they will take ownership of it,” he explained. “They will go off and do it on their own. They’ll break off into teams. Older ones will help the younger ones.”
The show has become something of a school-wide project for Trinity Montessori, with students and parents working together to make costumes and sets and children practicing with classmates at home, Jackson said.
Such a learning experience is bigger than just a performance, he said.
“Culture is what makes us human. I think [culture] what makes us who we are. You can learn about math and language and all that stuff, but I think doing something special and doing it that’s bigger than you… it grows better human beings.”
IF YOU WANT TO GO:
The Pluff Mud Players will perform “Stand Tall: Celebrating South Carolina’s Role in America’s Independence” on May 28 at 3 p.m. at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 67 Anson St.
Admission is free.
Jordyn Britton is an arts journalism and communications graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.