The Selma Times-Journal

Some local student got an out-of-the-norm treat this week.

Wallace Community College Selma hosted a Performance Arts Camp June 25 – July 27. The camp was conducted and organized by WCCS Choir Director Godfrey King.

On Tuesday, July 17, the group learned some acting skills from playwright Palmer Williams Jr. and screen actor Dwayne Boyd.

“They’re doing good,” Boyd said. “They’re open and willing to be kids. You feel the energy there.”

Boyd and Williams took the group of local and out-of-state students through a series of role-playing and disciplinary exercises. “And action!” and “Quiet on the set!” was repeated several times as if a real movie was being shot.

Many schools were represented at the camp, some of which were CHAT Academy, Valley Grande Elementary, Selma High, WCCS, Southside High, Dallas County and Martin Middle.

“I’m surprised they are as disciplined as they are,” Williams said of the young actors. “They are thirsty for knowledge.”

Williams and Boyd both reside in Atlanta. Williams is a native of Camden and is the son of the late Julia B. and Palmer E. Williams Sr. His long list of accomplishments include singing background vocals for R&B singers Keith Sweat and Monica. He wrote the stageplay “Can A Woman Make A Man Lose His Mind” and acted in the stageplay “A Good Man Is Hard To Find.”

His latest project is his CD “Neo Saved.”

“It’s a funky R&B, gospel album,” Williams said.

To find out more about Williams, visit his Web site www.palmerwilliamsjr.com.

Boyd has been seen on the big screen in the movie “The Gospel” starring Boris Kodjoe. Before he was an actor “I was in the Army for seven years.”

“I got out of the Army in ’97 and came to Atlanta to be an entertainer – didn’t know how or what,” Boyd said. “I started getting into acting and it started working out for me.”

Boyd was an extra in his first film “Boycott” about the Montgomery bus boycott, which aired on HBO. The movie starred Jeffrey Wright as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Terrence Howard as Ralph Abernathy.

“I just finished filming ‘Three Can Play That Game’ with Vivica Fox,” Boyd said. The film is slated for release next year.

Boyd will make an appearance on “Army Wives,” which airs on Lifetime this Sunday at 10 p.m. ET, 9 p.m. CST.

This was Boyd’s first visit to Selma.

“It’s a pleasant experience,” Boyd said. “I’m having fun.”

Before leaving town, Boyd and Williams stopped by the National Voting Rights Museum on Water Avenue and the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

“I know without Dr. King taking those steps on that bridge, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing,” Boyd said. “We have an obligation not to degrade what they (civil right footsoldiers) have done. We stand on their backs and we can’t forget that.”

To learn more about Boyd, visit his Web site at www.dwayneboyd.com.