Charles Gilpin Players continue historic legacy

The red curtains in the auditorium of the Memorial Student Center close and the sound of the "oompa loompa song" from the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fill the room. The audience is left with laughter, informative tips, and pure entertainment from the Freshman Orientation Show.
"It was funny. It was different and realistic," says senior health education major Mahalia Smith. The show has had a nice run but upper classmen have different experiences each year. Martina Guerra, a junior theatre major, said, "I felt it was a great experience with me being a junior now and it was a different experience from my freshmen year. It was the same show but with new ideas that kept me entertained."
The actors took the audience along with them as tourists of freshman year at Prairie View. The actors were heavily motivated by the crowd for entertaining and informative purposes.
Sha'Na Smith, a member of the Charles Gilpin Players, said, "I gained enjoyment from seeing that the audience enjoyed the show. It made me want to work harder and make sure they got the information that was given."
The Charles Gilpin Players has given the class of 2016 the opportunity to witness a small fracture of talent the Theatre Department strives to embellish daily; a heritage of talented African American artists that extend beyond the performers time.
Continuing the path of an honorable legacy, the Charles Gilpin Players have graced stages on and off of Prairie View A&M University's campus for the past 83 years. The Gilpins or CGP, the oldest theatre company in Texas, convey a unique artistic visual through the art of acting, writing, and directing. Throughout the years, the Charles Gilpin Players perform two main stage productions per semester and small productions throughout the school year.
The upcoming production for the fall main stage show is "Fabulation or the re-education of Undine" by Lynn Nottage. The show will run from Oct. 4 to 14.
A long line of the Gilpin members have come from Prairie View and made an impact. The graduating class of 2012 Charles Gilpin Players were accepted and attend prestigious graduate programs in New York; Marcel Spears, Amber Robinson, and Christopher Usher. Another famous Giplin, Florence Garvey, was recently named "Best Actress" from the Houston Press. Charles Gilpin Players do not only shine bright at Prairie View, but take the techniques they have learned here to share with world.