His real life high school musical

“He’s the type of young man I wouldn’t mind marrying my daughter,” head basketball coach Gary Collier said.

“A black Kevin Bacon,” assistant basketball coach Jeff MeGown said.

“He’s a multifaceted young man with many talents,” speech teacher Sally Squibb said.

These are the ways his teachers and elders describe him. And as he poses for the photographer in front of the stage for photographs to accompany this story, what they see becomes clear.

He strides with confidence to the center of the stage, like he did every night when he was starring as the main character, Ren McCormack, in “Footloose.” He picks up the orange and black ball, like he’s done on Tuesday and Friday nights for the varsity basketball team. And when asked to pretend to be giving a speech by the photographer, he does so without hesitation, mouthing words to who-knows-what with a confident face that few possess.

Senior Durwan Green moved to Lewisville from McKinney his sophomore year. He was involved in basketball and theater and took the opportunity to join both here.

“I liked him from the get-go, and I have not had a problem with him one time,” Collier said. “He’s just definitely one of those guys I wish I could have more years with because he’s that good of a person.”

Word spread quickly between teachers of this new student: Wendy Barrett, Green’s theater teacher, told Squibb about Green.

“One day this lady, Ms. Squibb, with spiky hair, came and told me, ‘Hey. Come to my room — now,’” Green said. “So I came to her room and spoke a couple of sentences for her, and she liked my voice and so ever since then I’ve been competing.”

Green’s decision to go see Squibb has paid off.

“When he spoke…[I saw] a lot of potential,” Squibb said. “He went to an audition [last] Saturday at the Hyatt Regency in Dallas, and TETA [Texas Educational Theatre Association] had represented some colleges all over the place, and he got callbacks to about 20 or 21 universities.”

Green has been a strong multitasker since he began his role as a basketball player, a speaker and a theater student, but this year was possibly his most challenging. When the auditions for “Footloose” began, he never gave it a second thought. He had never done a high school musical, and he wasn’t planning to start his senior year.

“I didn’t want to try out,” Green said. “I wasn’t gonna try out for ‘Footloose’ because, at the same time, I had basketball. Basketball practice is every day until 5:45, right after school. Rehearsals [are] until 5:45 every day right after school. So it was one of those things where I knew what I was getting myself into when I auditioned.

“Then I talked to one of my close friends, Demond Wilson. He’s one of the head theater directors around. Everybody knows him. He said, ‘When you get into college, you’re going to have a lot of things to juggle, so why not start now?’ So I auditioned for it, not expecting to get the lead role, because I never did choir. I never did a musical besides eighth grade, but I auditioned and they liked my voice so I got the lead.”

Planning ahead in case he landed a part, he let his teachers know as soon as he decided to audition. He told them that he might be in this musical, but that he wasn’t really looking forward to the auditions, but that he’d be prepared to work outside of school to make room for the addition to his schedule.

“I told my coach a month in advance before I auditioned,” Green said. “‘As soon as I got the schedule for ‘Footloose,’ I basically told them this is my schedule, and we can work around it. If I have to come in on a Sunday morning or before school at 5:45, I’ll do it, as long as I’m able to stay in your program and still get the same treatment as everybody else.”

Green had never performed in a musical in high school because of his dedication to basketball, but he began to weigh his options.

“I have to be real with myself,” Green said. “Which one am I better in? Am I better in basketball? Theater and speech? Am I more successful? I’m more successful in speech and theater, and then what happens if I get hurt in basketball? That ruins [my] whole scholarship. I can break my leg but I still have a mouthpiece. Now if I do this musical, will it look good on my resume? Yes. But if I do this musical, will it take away time from basketball? Yes.”

Although Green rehearsed in the afternoons for “Footloose,” he made up for the loss of basketball practice.

“He went with JV in the morning, that way he didn’t miss too much,” Collier said. “He’s one of those guys. A lot of kids this would have been tough on, but he just kind of readied his teeth and went ahead and beared with it. And I know he was probably tired because of being pulled in a lot of different directions, but him being as strong as he is, I don’t think it ever became an issue.”

Of course, a varsity basketball player who is starring in a musical is practically asking to get teased.

“My teammates are so, so dumb and yet so loving at the same time,” Green said. “They crack little jokes, and it’s funny because at the same time, they say, ‘Whatever, we love you,’ but they don’t understand. Theater, they thought, was just stupid. Then the whole team came and saw me perform in “Footloose,” and [showed] respect that I got the lead role in a sold-out musical in front of hundreds of people. I did decent in my opinion, and they respected me saying, ‘Even though we tease you, this is what you’re best at, and we understand why you’re missing practice to go.’”

Although Green is very independent and successful in his speaking and acting, when it comes to working as a team, he knows how to share the limelight.

“He’s kind of playing behind a junior,” Collier said. “He’s a senior, and the guy in front of him, Marquis Williams, is a junior. A lot of times you have older people taking offense to a younger player stepping in, but he’s one of those guys that was able to take the back seat and he didn’t rock the boat; he continues to practice hard and play hard.”

 Williams agrees. Green is just a happy person who cannot be made mad.

“Me and Durwan are on the same page,” Williams said. “He understands that it’s Coach Collier’s decision that he started me over him. He doesn’t have a problem with that. Me and him are very close, we’re basically the same person.”

Even though Green does not start, Collier says he’s very pleased having him on the team.

“I’m proud to know that he’s a player of mine,” Collier said. “I just hope that he rubs off on a lot of the younger players.”

Apart from being a lead character in a big musical, an important member of the varsity basketball team, and an award-winning speaker, Green also had a job as an assistant manager at Cosmic Jump before “Footloose” began.

Green said he owes all of his success in life to his family.

“I give all the credit to my parents, if anything,” Green said. “They taught me to say ‘yes ma’am, no ma’am,’ be very responsible, be very respectful. I like to carry myself in a high fashion manner. I mean, I like to be nice. Just little things. I know when to play and when to be serious, when it’s time to stop joking around. I know when it’s time to go to a volleyball game or something like that, and when to stay home and study, or work on my speech. I just know what’s important.”

Though basketball season came to an end in the second round of playoffs last Friday, competition continues for Green. He placed first last night in the preliminary event for the National Management Association’s “Leadership” speech contest, earning a spot in the regionals for the second year in a row.

Regional competition takes place on March 22 at the University of Texas-Arlington. Also competing will be senior Megan McGaugh. The winner advances to the Southwestern United States Championship.

Green said even though it was a lot of work and effort, he enjoyed what he got from it.

“It was very tough this year, so far as rehearsals and juggling basketball, but if I had a chance to do it all over again I would,” Green said. “Just for the experience, and just the love and support I got from my teammates, that’s something you can never get.  When your whole team, including your coaches come to watch you perform after months of rehearsals — there’s not a better feeling. I would do it all over again.”