Single Parents play continues to raise funds for schools
EVERTON DAWKINS’ must-see inspirational comedy play, Single Parents, has helped schools across Jamaica raise hundreds of thousands of dollars through charitable performances since last year.
During the recent holiday break, Single Parents was staged at St Mary High School in Highgate, enabling that school to raise some much-needed funds.
St Mary High joins schools such as Jamaica College, Edwin Allen, St Elizabeth Technical, among others, to benefit.
During October, Dawkins’ Dynamic Productions will stage benefit performances of Single Parents to assist Montego Bay High.
Apart from the obvious cash benefits, principals are also said to be impressed with the message that the production portrays.
Single Parents takes a look at the struggles faced by two single parents, Miss Brenda and Maas James, who live in a tenement yard and whose parenting styles differ greatly.
Audiences are usually shocked when they see how James treats his daughter, Olive, as against the treatment meted out to Oneil by his mother, Miss Brenda.
The two teens attend the same school and are ambitious, with Oneil often helping Olive with her work. However, despite this, James wants Olive to have nothing to do with Oneil.
Instead, the father has no objections to the don in the area, who has eyes for the teenage girl. The father doesn’t hesitate to take whatever opportunity he can to earn money through his daughter, but Oneil keeps getting in the way.
The plot thickens when the don realises that Oneil was a real threat to his plans and conspires with James to get rid of him.
But then, in comes Bubbles the true ‘Ghetto Gyal’ and Olive’s best friend. Bubbles fears no one, not the don, and certainly not James. Whenever these two collide their witty exchanges always leave audiences in stitches.
“Single Parents tackles real issues of parenting, identifying the conflicts that exist and the struggles of the parents and children while providing fulsome entertainment for all audiences. It is charged with emotion and life lessons, and audiences have said that the play is truly entertaining and the message is clear. Single Parents is extremely funny yet it hits home. It is worth seeing,” Dawkins said.
Outside of schools, Dawkins is making the play available to organisations which support a worthy cause, for use to raise funds.
Dubbed the Inspirational Comedy, Single Parents stars Juliet Shank as Miss Brenda, Kenroy Rowe as Oneil, Tanice Ellis as Olive, Jerry Brenzwick as Maas James, Kirk Codner as Mr Biggs, Natasha Williams as Bubbles, and Latoya Folkes as the teacher.