Actor Tamar Greene Interacts Via Zoom with Chelsea School District Students

Courtesy photo. Tamar Greene. Greene portrays George Washington in the play “Hamilton” on Broadway.

By Lisa Carolin

Thanks to the Chelsea Education Foundation, Zoom, and a teacher with connections, students at Chelsea High School, Beach Middle School, and South Meadows Elementary School had the chance to interact with one of the current stars in the musical “Hamilton” on Broadway March 3.

South Meadow’s choir, music, and drama teacher, Clarissa Prohaska, who is also the theater enrichment coordinator for the Chelsea School District, went to college with actor Tamar Greene, who is currently playing the role of George Washington in “Hamilton” on Broadway.

“Tamar Greene and I both studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York,” said Prohaska. “When I joined the Chelsea School District as the new theater enrichment coordinator, one of my goals was to open our students’ eyes to the world of theater. I immediately started working on coordinating a special event for Chelsea students to meet Tamar and to learn about his journey to Broadway.”

Thanks to a grant from the Chelsea Education Foundation, the event was made possible and included a performance by Greene as well as a chance to learn about his career, as well as a question and answer session.

Prohaska said that the event was part of South Meadow’s early celebration of World Theater Day, which takes place on March 27.

Courtesy photo. Actor Tamar Greene, who spoke to Chelsea School District students recently.

The school district has been celebrating theater with a variety of events including their inaugural Drama Club performance of the “Big Top” by Laura Rohrman and “Mystery of the Stolen Treasure” by Jennifer Reif, in addition to a monthly recess drama games program for third through fifth-graders.

Prohaska said that the presentation from Greene relates to curriculum in a number of ways.

“Tamar will be performing songs from Hamilton, and these songs will encourage our students to reflect on the connections between American history and music,” she said. “Our students have been developing questions to ask Tamar in the question-and-answer portion of the event. This relates to our district’s Portrait of a Graduate focus, as we support our students in developing their ability to reflect, analyze, and question, and gain confidence in asking questions of a professional actor.”