Rarmian Newton

[ERinVA]

Rarmian is part of the cast of NBC's new show, Rise, about a high school's staging of the musical, Spring Awakening.

RARMIAN NEWTON
Who he plays: Maashous Evers, a teen who’s been in and out of foster homes and finds solace in running the lighting booth for the drama department
What was that formative show for you? When I was 13 years old I played Billy in Billy Elliot: The Musical, and I've never been the same since. It was a show that pushed the boundaries of what you thought you were capable of and it was an extremely important lesson to learn, especially at such a young age. Rise has that same power. It shares the narrative of young people defying the boundaries set by adults. The world is your canvas, you can paint whatever you want.
What do you hope audiences realize can be gained from theatre when they watch Rise? I think theatre is the perfect place to find yourself. We try on so many masks as actors that we realize our deep compassion for every role we play, even the "evil" ones. The environment shapes our individuality, but we share the same light inside us. The more stories that we can tell and listen to, from every perspective, every protagonist, even the "bad" ones, the more we realize how similar we truly are. Theatre is a magic place where we can be anyone and everyone.

http://www.playbill.com/article/meet-th ... -nbcs-rise

[andrewcraig]

an extensive write up of Rarmian one of Australia's original Billys

https://studentedge.org/article/meet-ra ... us-in-rise

[ERinVA]

I realized I had missed the pilot when it aired, but fortunately, it was available on demand from my cable provider, so I watched it yesterday and thought it was worth watching.

Having been an English teacher who also taught drama, I found a lot to relate to in the show. "Spring Awakening" had not yet come out at that time , but I certainly understand the issues involved in mounting a high school production of the show. It simply could not have happened at my school, and most likely still could not happen in an average American high school.

I will be very interested to see how the plot progresses, as there is quite a variety in the personal backgrounds of all the students, including Rarmian's character, that I'm sure will be explored as the series continues.

[kport]

Rise is available on Hulu:

https://www.hulu.com/rise

[kport]

This is an excellent interview of Rarmian by MTV:

http://www.mtv.com/news/3075776/rise-ra ... interview/