CAIRO- Cairo High School’s Fundamentals of Theatre class was recently awarded a FACE (Fine Arts Consumables and Equipment) Grant from the Georgia Department of Education, allowing the students to better “create a character” through the use of makeup, hats, costume patterns and wigs.

According to Theatre Director, Austin Harrell, she applied for the grant in February 2023, and was notified of the award near the end of March. The application required a budgeting form, with a detailed price breakdown. Harrell utilized her students to help her with the form, as she wanted the grant to be 100 percent student centered and catered to the skills they wanted to learn.

“I used a lot of student input,” Harrell said. “In fact, three of my students- Kennedi Smart, Alyssa Edwards and Aubrey Whigham helped create an Amazon Wishlist with items and completed most of the budgeting section with little guidance from me.”

Upon receiving the grant, the allotted $3,000 went to purchasing “character kits.”

“We were able to purchase seven total,” Harrell stated.

The character kits include professional stage makeup, professional special effects makeup, makeup practice heads, wigs, wig stands, hats/fascinators, sewing patterns, buttons, lace trim and other items needed to create costumes.

Harrell explained the idea behind these character kits is to allow students to read and analyze scripts before building and creating the characters from the ground up.

“This is putting literacy into action, and I hope to grow an interest in reading form activities like this,” Harrell said.

Harrell also has big plans for other unique activities, such as bringing in a master seamstress to teach the basics of sewing, so students can begin to create and design their own costumes.

“We were awarded a grant in the spring of 2022 from the Community Foundation of South Georgia and were able to purchase sewing machines and dress forms,” Harrell recalled. “So many students are interested in the art of sewing, so I want to bring in this seamstress.”

This is a skill Harrell said she is also excited to learn.

“I can sew a button and perhaps a pillow, but I am interested in increasing my skills so that I can better teach my students,” she said. “It is my hope that in the future we could potentially add a “Fundamentals of Fashion” class which could fall under our CTAE career pathways as listed through the Georgia Department of Education.”

Harrell thinks the opportunity to not only learn fashion, but more about theatrical makeup creates a unique opportunity for her class that wouldn’t have been possible without the help of the FACE Grant.

“The grant definitely opens up more doors to teach students that theatre is about more than just acting on a stage,” she said. “We are able to now teach the skills that happen behind the curtain and make the real “stage magic” so wonderful.”

The items received from the FACE Grant open a variety of career paths. The theatre department is now able to teach makeup artistry, cosmetology, wig design, fashion design, costume design and touch on the concepts of marketing and management as it relates to those fields.

While the students are certainly excited, it is Harrell who truly sees all the possibilities that will come from this grant.

“I think I am most excited about adding another dimension to our program,” she said. “We have always been blessed with talented actors, but with this we are able to give them the tools they need to enhance the characters they play on stage with professional touches.”

Harrell concluded by teasing that the class is currently working on a comedy show entitled, “10 Ways To Survive the Zombie Apocalypse,” written by Don Solids, where students will be able to showcase their hand-created costumes and special makeup looks.