Two actors bring Scout’s journey to life on stage

There are many complex issues a child can face while growing up — Things like justice, morality and prejudice, among others.

Learning about those issues, how to process them and even how it changes a person is the underlying story of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Harper Lee’s famous book about a man falsely accused based solely on the color of his skin.

Grace Shank and Hannah Marshall were ready to face those complexities when they took on the role of Scout Finch in the MTVarts production of the play. Scout is the daughter of Atticus Finch, the Alabama lawyer who risks everything to defend Tom Robinson, the black man falsely accused of assaulting a white woman.

“Scout is fun because she’s a younger girl, but she’s not like most girls her age. She’s very tomboyish. She likes to beat up the boys in her class. She likes to stand up for her family. So, if anyone says anything bad about them, she’s not afraid to be rude back. She’s very fun,” said Shank, a junior at East Knox High School and COTC who plays Scout as a youth.

“My role is mostly narration and transition between scenes,” said Marshall, the education director for MTVarts who plays Scout as an adult. “The concept is that I, as an older Scout, am looking back at my life and about the things that Atticus taught me when I was growing up. A lot of time when I come in, I’m giving some subtext or context on what is about to happen or what just happened.

“The show is you reliving my memories with me. So as an audience member, I’m taking along with, I remember this happening. I do come out a lot and some moments where I stay onstage and watch as an adult. I kind of flow on the outskirts of the stage and rewatch my own childhood. “

The duo come from different worlds but have found a mutual understanding of Scout and what she lives through and how she learns from it. Shank is in her second year as a local actress with MTVarts, while Marshall grew up in Massachusetts and spent her college days at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City.

“I am playing Scout how I interpreted her and how I think she’s feeling in those moments,” said Shank, who hopes to continue acting even though she’s considering forensic science as a career. “There a definitely times with adult Scout, where Hannah plays her different; more like she’s matured over the years.”

“I think I’m following Grace a little bit on how she’s playing Scout and then I kind of analyze what she has done and try to make a real person out of that,” Marshall said. “It’s more me following Grace’s lead a little bit because she is in the whole show. The audience is going to see more of Scout’s personality at however young you are in the show. So, it’s my responsibility to follow her lead. That’s very fun for me.

“I love character analysis. I’m quite the nerd when it comes to digging into a script and trying to find all the things I wanted. Just how people relate to each other, how people see themselves; how people think they are perceived. The psychology is very fascinating to me.”

The story, even though it’s set in a racially divided Alabama in the 1930s, is timeless and it’s that mix of childhood honesty and adult reflection that gives the play its emotional depth and lasting impact.

The play will be performed May 8-10 at the Woodward Opera House. Tickets are available through MTVarts and the Mount Vernon Arts Consortium.