April 2011 Student Artist of the Month

The April Student Artist of the Month is Eli Tracewell. Eli is a Junior at Parkersburg South High School in Wood County.

The April Student Artist of the Month is Eli Tracewell. Eli is a junior at Parkersburg South High School (Wood County). He is the son of Jim and Jackie Tracewell of Washington, WV.

Eli is considered a mainstay in the theatre department at Parkersburg South High School. After landing the lead as Ren in “Footloose, the Musical” his freshman year, Eli went on to play prominent roles in productions of “Harvey,” “The Wizard of Oz,” and a contemporary musical “Zombie Prom.” He will be playing the role of the Stage Manager in Parkersburg South's production of “Our Town" at the end of the month.

As part of a theatre class, he directed, designed and painted the set, and performed the lead as Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol.” The production toured seven schools and other venues the week before Christmas last year.

Eli has also performed with the Marietta/Parkersburg chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters and has been a part of “The Nutcracker” and other shows produced by the Shrader Youth Ballet during the past two holiday seasons.

He was named to the “All State Cast” at the 2010 WV State Thespian Festival and has earned the “Best Actor” award the past 2 years at the WV Area II Thespian Festival.

Jayne Whitlow, Eli’s teacher and theatre director nominated him for Student Artist of the Month. She commented that she often refers to Eli as a "Renaissance Teen." “Eli is an incredibly talented, cerebral, sensitive and caring young man,” Whitlow said. “His dedication to the arts and his performing abilities are miles beyond his years. His contributions to the total school life of Parkersburg South make him influential not only with fellow students, but also with teachers and the principal.”

Eli is involved with his school’s newspaper, contributing to news stories and writing a regular column. He established a food and toiletry bank at Parkersburg South High School to assist students who may need "just a little bit of help" and is an active member of his church. Eli's other interests include photography, film making and graphic design. He has designed many of the logos, t-shirts and graphics for the theatre productions he has performed in.

According to Eli, "The arts are important to me because they give an opportunity to everyone to express emotions and experiences in a variety of mediums without fear of judgment. Each aspect of the arts, whether it be visual art, music, dance or theatre, has its own unique influence on both the audience and the participant. In my experiences with theatre, I have had the opportunity to take on many roles and with each character, I have learned more about myself."

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