Tallahassee Democrat - 03/08/2017 Page : C01

Copyright © 2017 Tallahassee Democrat. All rights reserved. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights , updated March2007. 03/08/2017March 8, 2017 12:44 pm (GMT +5:00) Powered by TECNAVIA

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Leon County’s most outstanding high schoolseniors were selected this week as the 160 fi-nalists in 2017 for the 12th Anniversary of theBest & Brightest Awards, which recognize andhonor public and private school students whoexcel both academically and in service toschool and community. The finalists from eachschool next undergo an interview process cul-minating in the Best & Brightest Awards Cere-mony, to be held Wednesday, May 17, at RubyDiamond Concert Hall, at which countywidewinners will be announced.

“This year’s student leaders who are so de-servedly honored in this program reflect thehighest caliber of dedication to academics anddemonstrate excellence in all that they do,”said Laura Rogers, program director of WorldClass Schools and coordinator of The Best &Brightest Awards. “I am proud to recognizethese young people who place a priority onservice to others as an ethic to be embraced forlife.”

The Best & Brightest Awards program, nowin its 12th year, has recognized more than 1,500exceptional public and private high schoolseniors and awarded more than $500,000 inscholarships since its inception. The Best &Brightest Awards program is sponsored byEnvision Credit Union, in partnership withLeon County Schools, World Class Schools ofLeon County, The Tallahassee Democrat, SachsMedia Group, Radiology Associates, FlaglerCollege, The Florida League of Cities, Jim Mo-ran School, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare,HEI Networks and the Greater TallahasseeChamber of Commerce.

On March 4 , panels of select communityleaders interviewed the 2017 finalists on topicssuch as foreign language, technology and dra-ma to determine the winners of the countywideawards. This year, 160 finalists will be evaluat-ed on their academic achievement, leadershipand community service. A winner, runner-upand honorable mention recipient will be named

from each category.“The Best & Brightest Awards have allowed

us to recognize the Leon County students whoare excelling in our schools and inspiring ourcommunity through their exceptional academicand civic work,” said Ron Sachs, founder of theBest & Brightest Awards. “The outstandingachievements of this year’s students set themapart as examples to inspire us all — and togenerate great hope for the future of our com-munity, state and nation.”

To reach this point, all the finalists have

See Awards, Page 4C

SERVICE, ACHIEVEMENT DEFINE TOP HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS

If you goWhat: Best & Brightest Awards CeremonyWhen: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 17Where: Ruby Diamond Auditorium, 222 South Cope-land St.

SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

A 100-foot-tallgorilla is nothappy whenuninvitedvisitors landon “SkullIsland,”openingFriday.

LOCAL NEWS » TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT » WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017

Movies

LET’S GO APE: While the Vietnam War is dragging to aclose in the early ’70s, an American military team discovers aremote isle that is home to an angry, 100-foot-tall gorillaand other ferocious beasts in the creature feature “Kong:Skull Island.” It’s rated PG-13 and opens Friday at AMC 20,Governor’s Square and the IMAX Theatre on Kleman Plaza.

MEET JAMES BALDWIN: The novelist and intellectualJames Baldwin takes a survey of the racial landscape inAmerica during the ’50s and ’60s when The Tallahassee FilmSociety screens the documentary “I Am Not Your Negro”on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at All Saints Cinema, in theAmtrak station off Railroad Avenue. It’s rated PG-13. Visitwww.tallahasseefilms.com.

THOSE CATS IN TURKEY: The Turks and thousands of feralcats, who arrived by boat and decided to stay, co-exist alongthe streets of Istanbul when The Tallahassee Film Societypresents the documentary “Kedi.” It’s not rated and play-ing Saturday and Sunday at All Saints Cinema, in the Amtrakstation off Railroad Avenue. It’s not rated. Visitwww.tallahasseefilms.com.

Opera

PARTY GIRL FEELING PUNY: Soprano Sonya Yonchevabrings her acclaimed interpretation of the doomed courte-san Violetta Valéry when the Metropolitan Opera in Man-hattan broadcasts its production of Verdi’s classic “La tra-viatta” live at 12:55 p.m. Saturday at The Movies at Gover-nor’s Square. It runs 175 minutes and is subtitled. Tickets are$25.80, $23.65 and $19.35. Visit www.fandango.com.

Special Events

A SPLASHY SPECTACLE: Looking for an alternative toRingling Bros now that the circus has folded the tent? Theanimal-free Cirque Italia will bring circus in the Europeantradition (think Cirque du Soleil) to Tallahassee audiencesThursday through Sunday at Governor’s Square Mall, 1500Apalachee Parkway. The show centers around the theme ofwater and incorporates it into its acts. Shows are 7:30 p.m.Thursday and Friday and 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m. Saturdayand Sunday. The box office is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. onnon-show days and open til 9 p.m. on show days. Ticketsrange from $10 to $50. Get them at cirqueitalia.com/ticketsor by calling 941-704-8572.

THE MERRY WINES OF WINDSOR: In Shakespeare’s“Othello,” the Bard wrote “Good wine is a good familiarcreature, if it be well used.” His words will be well-heededwhen the Southern Shakespeare Company’s ShakespeareUncorked wine festival pops off this Saturday from 6:30 to9 p.m. at The Governor’s Club, 202 S Adams St. Come in yourbest flapper attire (it’s a Roaring ’20s theme this year) andenjoy over 50 highly exclusive wines featured along withfood prepared by six of the best chefs in Tallahassee. Ticketsrange from $93.84 to $425.60. Visit southernshakespearef-estival.org/uncorked/

GO IRISH FOR THE DAY: Even though Saint Patrick’s Dayisn’t until March 17, the Tallahassee Irish Society is getting ajump on things with its St. Patrick’s Festival starting witha parade 1 p.m. Saturday at Kleman Plaza. The day of livemusical entertainment features Irish folk singer DonieCarroll headlining, as well as Irish songwriter Walter

Get a jump on your weekend

entertainment plans every

Wednesday, and pick up the

Limelight section on Friday

NEIL COKER AND MARK HINSONDEMOCRAT WRITER AND SENIOR WRITER

See Limelight, Page 2C

LIMELIGHT EXTRA

UNCORKSHAKESPEARE,GO IRISH THISWEEKEND

Matt Cooksey is a first-year master’s student inopera production at Florida State University. As partof his training to be a well-rounded professional, heand his classmates are taught about design, costum-ing, lighting and other aspects of production. He hastaken his study one step further and, inspired by the19th-century opera “Beatrice and Benedict” by Hec-tor Berlioz, he created a new interpretation for youngaudiences.

Cooksey explained his process: “I had to pick themusical numbers, figure out the structure of theshow, and get to work basically writing a completelynew libretto. All of the lyrics were mine, the dialog ismine, so it was a pretty huge undertaking.”

The original comic opera by Berlioz is largelybased on Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,”and Cooksey believes its themes are particular well-suited for teenagers. “We go around carrying baggageabout should I really say what I mean? Should I come

out of my shell and say this is who I am? I think it’s ahuman anxiety and I wanted to provide a platform forthese students to see that it is OK.”

Through the FSU Opera Outreach program andwith the help of a six-person cast and a pianist whoprovided live accompaniment, Cooksey was able topresent his work to students in several schools acrossthe city. Though the show was written with middleschoolers in mind, Cooksey found an eager audienceat Cornerstone Learning Community, where nearly200 pre-K through eighth-grade students enjoyed theproduction, performed in their outdoor theater.

Cornerstone seventh-grader Evan Marty has beeninvolved in musical theater for most of his life. Hesaid, “I don’t have a great voice but I’m interested inseeing how opera works and all the ranges people canhave.” Sixth-grader Tyson White was also impressedby the singing but was even more taken with some ofthe technical aspects of the show. He said, “I enjoyedseeing how the scenes changed.”

Youngsters relate to FSU’s modern twist on opera AMANDA KARIOTH THOMPSONCOUNCIL ON CULTURE & ARTS

AMANDA THOMPSON

The cast of Beatrice and Benedict perform for Cornerstonestudents. See Opera, Page 3C

DEMOCRAT FILES

Laura Rogers is coordinator of the Best & BrightestAwards. The 2017 school-based winners wereannounced last week.

GETTY IMAGES / ISTOCKPHOTO

Tallahassee Democrat - 03/08/2017 Page : C03

Copyright © 2017 Tallahassee Democrat. All rights reserved. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights , updated March2007. 03/08/2017March 8, 2017 12:49 pm (GMT +5:00) Powered by TECNAVIA

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TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT » WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017 » 3C

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FirstBirthdaysSend in a JPEGformat photo toTLH-FirstBirth-days@tallahas-see.com. Include thechild’s full name,date of birth andparents’ names,address and phonenumber. Photos arepublished Wednes-days around thechild’s first birthday.Photos are pub-lished within onemonth of the birth-day. Call 599-2171.

Fourth-grader Pando-ra Flom was intrigued bythe show’s history andhow Cooksey created acontemporary, school-based setting where thestory could unfold. “Theytold us the opera wasreally, really old and howthey made it modern. Ithink I liked it that way.It would have also beenreally interesting for it tobe old, but I liked it themodern way.”

Pandora’s fourth-grade classmates ReeseBowden and Alec Wingerwere both mesmerizedby the acting. “I felt thatthe characters were giv-ing out what they werefeeling and the musicwas too,” Reese said. Theoften quarreling andmischievous charactersfelt relatable to Alec.Mildly exasperated, hejoked that “Hero,” a rath-er bombastic personalityin this revision, “is a lotlike my sister.”

Playing the role ofsingle-minded Hero wasCamden McLean, an FSUsophomore majoring invocal performance. “He-ro, to me, is the preced-ent of every single meangirl character there’sever been.” She added, “Ithink it’s important to putthat up on stage.” Cam-den recognizes that manystudents face difficultynavigating treacheroussocial situations and shefeels this performanceallows students to seetheir own struggles re-flected on stage.

“A lot of what I loveabout the arts is that itgives people a platformto connect to, it’s like ‘Iremember when I feltthat exact emotion’ or ‘Ilived that story, too.’ Itmakes people feel a littlebit less alone which Ithink is really importantin our global societyright now.”

The title role of Bene-dict was played by FSUgraduate student LukeBarnard. He is studyingvocal performance andwas moved by the uni-versal nature of the op-era’s message. “There’s areason this show, which

was done in the 1800s, isstill being done today. Ithas a lot of truths. It’ssomething that resonateswith our history and ithas something to say thatis timeless.”

Barnard feels it isespecially important toprovide young audienceswith the opportunity toexplore the world ofopera and is grateful tobe involved with theunique FSU Opera Out-reach program. He said,“There’s not as muchexposure to this kind ofmusic and by bringing itinto the schools we’resort of opening the chil-dren’s eyes to the possi-bilities of classical mu-sic. Whether that getsthem excited to play thesaxophone or maybestart taking voice lessonsso they can try operathemselves. To engage insomething that they’renot particularly used tohearing and becomeadvocates for it, that’s abeautiful thing.”

Amanda KariothThompson is the assis-tant director for theCouncil on Culture &Arts. COCA is the capitalarea’s umbrella agencyfor arts and culture(www.tallahasseearts.org).

OperaContinued from Page 1C

AMANDA THOMPSON

Intended for middle schoolers, the opera also captivatedyounger audience members.