Caleb Marshall

Every once in a blue moon (and there were two of them this past December), I run across an actor, male or female, who simply intrigues me while he or she is on the stage. I am not sure if it is the intensity of the acting, the raw talent or the confidence the person conveys without showing the ego a lot of actors have. 

While watching “The 1940’s Radio Hour” opening night at Murfreesboro Little Theatre in December, there was a tall, bearded young man, with a slight bit of cockiness, who came on stage dressed as a WWII soldier. Private Biff Baker was headed to war right after the radio show was over, and one could have believed he really was leaving overseas when the production was over. I asked myself, “Who is this guy? He must be a senior at MTSU who auditioned and won the part.” 

Caleb Andrew Marshall is actually a senior at Blackman High, and at 17 (he will be 18 in May) he has only been acting for four years. With his talents, one would think he grew up on the theater stage. This San Antonio native has only been “on stage” three times: he played Indio in “West Side Story” and was in the chorus/choreography in “Chicago,” and he was the student director of “Lights, Camera,” all at Blackman. Ah, but unknown to many, he was THE mechanical device/movement of the man-eating plant in MLT’s “Little Shop of Horrors.” In March, he steps on stage once again in “Little Shop . . . ,” but as the florist/shop owner Mr. Mushnik, a role he is greatly anticipating. 

Marshall graduates in May, and his goal is to start at Nashville’s Belmont University in the fall, with the desire to receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, and he then wants to hit New York’s Broadway and not look back. His goal? Acting? Singing? Playing the french horn (as he does in the band at school) or the trumpet (as he did on the MLT stage)? Well, he can do all the above, and he is outstanding with all of them, but he wants to dance. Incredible, the man can dance, too. He claims to love dance, with modern, jazz and ballet techniques being his favorites. He enjoys, however, singing show tunes, and he will sing for anyone, particularly the water droplets in the shower, and for his main squeeze and best friend Ali Amirian, in the car. This young man, for all the gifts he has been given, has a beautiful voice as well. 

He considers Daniel Day Lewis and Nicole Kidman his favorite actors and Moulan Rouge his favorite movie. He is intrigued with “West Side Story” on stage, any Tennessee Williams play, and wants, down the road, to be in a production of “Hair.” 

He has a lot of encouragement from Ms. Amirian, a gifted Murfreesboro actor herself. She also is graduating from Blackman this spring and plans to attend MTSU this fall, majoring in Video Production. She was also in “Little Shop . . .” at MLT and will be a dancer in the production at Blackman.

Caleb’s sister, Elise, who is 13, and his mom Michelle, stand behind him in his endeavors. I was so impressed by both him and Ms. Amirian during the interview; their confidence is overwhelming, yet Caleb states that he and Ali are “both just a couple of regular teenagers . . . just natural teens.” Perhaps, but just a couple of regular teenagers that have a head on their shoulders, confident without the ego, being blessed with a lot of talents, and who are going to go far in life.