BROOKSVILLE — He wasn’t nervous, even in a room full of adults.
Nehemiah Torres, 11, a home-schooled sixth-grader, looked the part as he prepared to portray President Abraham Lincoln at the Hernando County Commission meeting on April 28. The suit fit. The stage beard sat straight. The stovepipe hat made the introduction unnecessary.
“I’m going to be reciting the Gettysburg Address,” he said.
The performance was part of the America 250 celebration, said Vince Vanni of the Live Oak Theatre in Brooksville.
“They asked us if we would bring someone in to do a presentation on the Gettysburg Address,” Vanni said.
Commission Chairman Jerry Campbell announced the presentation at the top of the meeting. After Vanni spoke briefly about the theater, Nehemiah took the podium and delivered the 272 words that have become famous in American history.
Lincoln gave the address on Nov. 19, 1863, four and a half months after the Battle of Gettysburg, at the dedication of the cemetery for the fallen Union soldiers. Vanni told commissioners that Lincoln wrote it on his way to the cemetery and read from the page rather than reciting from memory. The speech, he said, charged the living with making sure the dead did not die in vain.
Nehemiah drew applause from the audience and praise from the dais.
“It was really nice to remember what they did for us and this country,” he said afterward.
A growing operation
The conservatory now enrolls nearly 300 students across more than 40 classes in the performing arts, Vanni said.
County Administrator Jeff Rogers called Live Oak Theatre “a gem of the county” and thanked Nehemiah for “an amazing job.”
Commissioner Brian Hawkins said the program teaches young people to speak in public without fear, a skill that lasts a lifetime.
“Outstanding job, young man,” Commissioner Steve Champion said. “We need to see more of this in our schools and in public. It’s a great way to teach the youth.”
Commissioner John Allocco, who appeared in Live Oak’s production of “Newsies,” said two of his daughters have been active in the organization, and that Nehemiah’s brothers have performed there as well. The experience, he said, opens doors to future careers and gives young people practice working alongside both peers and adults.
Family in the audience
Nehemiah’s grandparents, Steve and Nancy Ponticos, drove him and his brothers to the meeting. His parents were taking their other children to the dentist.
“So proud of him,” Steve Ponticos said. “So proud of what they’re taught, what Vince has done at Live Oak, and that the kids learn not to have fear, to be able to talk in front of people, and learn what is true about our country.”
Nehemiah’s brothers, Patrick, 9, and Obediah, 8, watched from the gallery.
“I think it’s good,” Obediah said, adding he is proud of his brother.