“The thing about the arts is that people often don’t realize is that it connects people cross culturally,” said actor and musician Darwin Harris. “Drama, music, dance, art — it’s a universal language.”
And in the high school environment, where human divides are plentiful, the arts offer a universal way of interacting, he said. Even more, the arts help our left brain – the analytical, studious brain – to do its job better. That means better grades and higher SAT scores.
To that end, University City is on the right track. For the past 18 years, the city has provided students with unique exposure to the arts through its Returning Artist program. Harris was one of two artistically renowned University City High School graduates who recently returned to the district to lead creative workshops in various schools.
Since 1994, the University City Arts and Letters Commission has organized the Returning Artists Program, which has brought back many U. City graduates including visual artists, glassblowers, photographers, writers, filmmakers, graphic designers, videographers, animators, instrumental musicians, composers, actors, singers and dancers.
Writer and musician Sallie DuMaine collaborated with Harris, combining music with drama in the sessions. DuMaine, UCHS Class of 1980, was nominated in last year’s Kevin Kline award for her musical direction in “Pump Boys and Dinettes” at the Bear Stage.
Harris, UCHS Class of 1991, pursues his acting in Los Angeles where he has appeared in commercials, television and films. Previously he worked in television and stage productions out of Chicago.
“With schools tending to minimize art experiences, for the commission to invest the money in this way, it is so beneficial,” said Diane Davenport, chairwoman of the commission. “With this testing mania, the activity in their lives has been zapped.”
Davenport said the artists give students exposure to artforms and life experiences that they might not have had otherwise.
“For me that’s the most important part – that these artists relate to the kids,” she said.
Harris was born and raised in University City, and his mother taught in the St. Louis Public Schools for over 30 years. In fifth grade he decided to make a move to trumpet, and that’s when his artistic transformation began.
“I quickly caught on to the trumpet and loved every minute of it,” he said. In seventh grade, he and three other classmates founded the U. City Jazz Dispatch, most notably Neal “Sugar” Caine (currently bassist for Harry Connick Jr.).
Yet in the 10th grade, he landed a role in his high school production of West Side Story, and he took a different artistic direction. He graduated from Truman State University with a B.A. in theatre.
“Many people say that living life to the fullest is very important,” he said. “I always try to integrate the universal human experience in the work that I choose whether it be on stage or on camera.”
For DuMaine, from the time she started taking piano lessons at seven, she has always needed to express herself creatively.
“My contentment comes from being in situations that allow me to use all of my creative gifts, but music is where it all started for me,” said DuMaine, who is currently the music educator for Girls, Inc. and the co-minister of music at St. Matthew the Apostle Catholic Church.
She has been the musical director for several productions, and has been nominated for Best Musical Direction by Arts for Life.
Through the program, the two artists led numerous activities, which included improvisation. For example, they took the tune of “Twinkle Little Star” and had the students create their own lyrics.
“A lot of people don’t look at the lyrics,” Harris said. “Music is a form of storytelling too. It’s good to pay more attention to what is being said.”
They also talked with students about the functions of the two sides of the brain. The arts offer intuitive tools for our brains to comprehend and remember patterns for learning skills. By strengthening the creative side – the right brain, people are better able to navigate the endless information of the left brain.
Data from The College Board show that students who take four years of arts and music classes while in high school score 102 points better on their SATs than students who took only one-half year or less.
Harris said the students’ passion and sense of play gave him inspiration.
“Working with the students, it helped me come back to a place where I started to realize again why I started doing what I do,” he said. “In my career, you get so caught up in the business. Being around these kids was very motivational.”
