Jennings’ passion for theatre emboldens LPHS

LPHS senior, Ezekiel Jennings, moved from his home state of Washington to California, then to Hawaii for a few years, to Georgia, before finally settling in LaPorte. 

Since landing at LPHS, he has found a home for himself in the theatre department.

Jennings has a vast history with theatre. Some of his roles include Mufasa in a school production of The Lion King, Aladdin in Aladdin, and a few other productions at his old middle school. Though he has a history of working backstage in all of the productions he’s been in, Jennings has more of a passion for being in front of the curtains instead of behind it.

“I have a bit of an artistic mind that mainly stems from my music background, and when I was in middle school, I decided to pursue acting with the encouragement of one of my friends, who’s now in a bunch of stuff, including the Fear Street movie and the upcoming season of Stranger Things,” Jennings said.

He describes his transition from big school and town life as different but is happy with the community and how nice the people are in LaPorte. After hearing about it from one of his new friends, Jennings auditioned for the LPHS Variety Show. Out of the 15 acts performed, Jennings was the only one who acted out a full monologue from the famous Shakespearean play Hamlet.

After taking a theater class and tackling the Shakespearean roots, Jennings finds himself performing in the school’s Spring Play of Shrek, which will take place from May 20th through the 22nd. 

When not on stage performing for various different shows, Jennings can be found playing his guitar.

“I am a pretty talented guitarist. I’ve played for a little over six years, and it’s something that I love to do,” Jennings said.

In the future, he plans to go to college for business and finance since he is a natural leader, but he is undecided on what college he wants to attend.

Though Jennings has only been here for a short time, he has already made a great impact in, not only the theatre department, but the high school as a whole.