- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 24/Aug 08:18

T’xaiyan, 8, shines as ‘Girl’ in Anansi

OFTEN described as dramatic, eight-year-old T’xaiyan Cain put her expressive and outspoken personality on display as she starred in Milwaz Productions' staging of Anansi. She said it was a great, learning experience that she is very proud of. T’xaiyan hails from Sangre Grande and is a standard three student at the Cunapo St Francis RC Primary School. She said she enjoys science and math, but also social studies and creative writing. She said she started acting at age seven after some persuasion from her principal. “She asked me if I wanted to join a play because she saw that I was dramatic, and that’s how it started.” She played the Grinch in a school Christmas play, she told Newsday Kids with a giggle. “People said they loved my performance.” [caption id="attachment_1174017" align="alignnone" width="1024"] T’xaiyan Cain is surrounded by fellow cast members during a rehearsal for Milwaz Productions' staging of Anansi by Alistair Campbell. - Gabrielle Briggs of Gifts from Gabs Studios[/caption] She added that the original movie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, is hilarious. Realising she loved acting, she saw there was an opportunity to audition for a role in the play Anansi in March. Anansi was written by playwright New Zealand Alistair Campbell. It highlights the horror of the transatlantic slave trade. Janieka Tudor-Baptiste was the director for Milwaz Productions’ take on it. So she went to the Tacarigua Community Centre and hoped she could impress the recruiters. “I wasn’t nervous,” she admitted, and the audition went well. Some weeks later, she said her mom picked her up after school and said, “T’xai, I forgot to tell you! You got the character (named) Girl in the play, and I screamed, ‘Yay!’ she excitedly recalled. Girl is terrified on the slave ship and her only comfort is being told stories of the trickster, Anansi the spider. She said it took her “several weeks” to perfect her very complex lines. [caption id="attachment_1174018" align="alignnone" width="771"] T’xaiyan Cain won a medal for creative writing at her school, Cunapo St Francis Government Primary School. Next to her is Mrs Durity. - Glendersha Thomas[/caption] “I would practise at home with my mom, either in the living room or the bedroom. I would say my lines and she would say the other people’s lines.” She said sometimes she even picked up a water bottle and pretended it was a mic. Then came the big moment – the play was premiered at the Government Campus Plaza auditorium, Port of Spain, on August 10. Again, she wasn’t nervous at all. She said she was excited and happy to see the large audience. “My character was on a slave ship…Slaves were whipped, beaten, shackled. And there was a woman telling Anansi stories.” [caption id="attachment_1174016" align="alignnone" width="1024"] T’xaiyan Cain is surrounded by fellow cast members at the Government Campus Plaza auditorium, Port of Spain, during Milwaz Productions' staging of Anansi by Alistair Campbell. - Sean Sorias for Sorias Media[/caption] She said the crowd loved the performance and she is looking forward to continuing as Milwaz Productions does a tour across TT from October 7-30. She said acting has really helped her “connect with (her) emotions” while performing. “It also helped me bring my creative writing alive!” She recently got a medal at school for excellence in creative writing. In addition to acting, she also sings. She even won the Sangre Grande Junior Monarch competition last year. She has also performed in the Prime Minister’s Best Village competition with spoken word poetry. She’s not quite sure what she wants to be when she grows up, but she was sure to say the list of possibilities was too long to name. Those interested in seeing T’xaiyan in her element on stage in Anansi can check Milwaz Productions’ social media pages for the tour dates and ticket information.   The post T’xaiyan, 8, shines as ‘Girl’ in Anansi appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.