10/03/2026
This past week, scholars from Mr. Pisaturo's Public Speaking & Theater class visited the Calderwood Pavilion in the South End to see Huntington Theatre's production of Purpose, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play by Brandon Jacob Jenkins. The nearly 3-hour epic introduces the audience to the Jaspers, a prominent and influential Black political dynasty that has been encircled by civil rights leaders, pastors, and congressmen for decades. Scholars had a front-row seat to witness the fracturing of a family through the eyes of their youngest son, digging into themes of shared morality, family values, shifting social climates, and personal politics. Following the production, scholars also had the opportunity to engage in a talk-back with the cast, where they unpacked acting and technical elements of the rehearsal and performance process. In class, scholars will be using what they learned from this experience to inform their own creative process as they devise original works of theater. Check out pictures here of our scholars at the show and afterwards with cast member, off-Broadway, and film/TV star Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, who played the Jasper family matriarch, Claudine.
