Jumping Jaq Fresh

How do you make the topics of standardized testing and academic achievement motivating for 1st-5th grade students? You commission the amazing playwright Chinaka Hodge to create a vibrant musical play. The result is “Jumping Jaq Fresh,” which utilizes Broadway showtunes and current rock music to tell an empowering story about excelling against all odds. Starring the multi-talented students of John Muir Elementary School, who worked for more than eight months on the production at the Western Addition Beacon Center. “Jumping Jaq Fresh” was directed by Handful Players’ Ryan Marchand and Samantha Jackson, with set designs by Nannette Harris. The kids were accompanied by live musical performances from keyboardist Tammy Hall, bassist Daniel Fabricant and drummer Deszon Claiborne.

Jumping Jaq Fresh
Watch Jumping Jaq Fresh

DATE: 

May 2014

PLAYWRIGHT: 

Chinaka Hodge

DIRECTORS: 

Ryan Marchand & Samantha Jackson

CHOREOGRAPHER: 

Raissa Simpson

MUSICIANS: 

Tammy Hall, Daniel Fabricant, Deszon Claiborne

COSTUMER

René Walker

SET DESIGN

Nannette Harris-Jones

PHOTOGRAPHER

James Knox

VIDEOGRAPHER

Donald Bowden

LOCATION

Buriel Clay Theater, African American Art & Culture Complex