photo by Shannon Richardson

The Actor

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He dances on the stage to perform for us, flashing smiles and amusing eyes, as the photographer clicks his camera. He’s already a professional and follows his cues properly. He is patient and waits for instructions, making nary a sound or complaint. Tré Butcher is only seven years old.

When you see him on stage, you'd never guess that little Tré lost his mother just last year. She collapsed suddenly from a Cardiac Tamponade, a condition in which fluid collects in the sac around the heart. Kara Butcher had high blood pressure, but there were no other symptoms indicating a larger problem – at least, none that she or her husband, John, realized. Tré found his mother on the kitchen floor and ran to get his father in the next room, but by the time they returned to her, she was gone. Kara was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

“It was very traumatic,” says John, now-single father and sales manager with Cemex. “I came home and told Tré that his mom passed away, and I was trying to keep my own composure. He threw a conniption, saying, ‘Why me? Why me?’”

In what seemed like an overnight shift of emotion, Tré insisted on going to school the next day because he wanted to tell people his mother was gone, that she was in heaven, and based on his behavior ever since, you have to wonder how a boy of only seven manages to express emotion with such maturity.

“We never fully think in our training that it would be used this way,” says Jason Crespin, Academy Director at the Amarillo Little Theater and Butcher family friend. “I mean, these are life skills these kids are learning. Tré hasn’t been in theater that long, but his dad has been really adamant about staying in touch with upcoming auditions. He realizes how much it’s helped.”

Tré got his start with the ALT when he auditioned and got a small ensemble part in “The Christmas Carol” in 2007. At only five years old, Tré’s budding talent and charisma was notable. His mother started taking him to Saturday morning theater classes, where his big brother relationship with Jason began to grow. Tré landed a part in “Seussical the Musical” the following spring and was then cast in “The Velveteen Rabbit.” It was during those rehearsals when Tré’s mother passed away, and Jason was quick to tell John that Tré was free to leave the production.

“When we heard Kara had died, we went to their house to take food and toys to them. Tré was playing in the yard, and he seemed shocked to see us there. He immediately told us his mother had died, in case we didn’t know. Then he was just quiet. We thought we might not see him for a while. The first time he talked was his first day back at class,” says Jason. “He told his dad that he wanted to go back to class because that’s the last time he remembered being happy. I knew we had to make theater the most positive environment possible because that is where he felt peace.”

True to his craft, the show must go on. Tré went back to rehearsals for “The Velveteen Rabbit,” a performance that called for his very first speaking role. While John told him he didn’t have to continue, Tré insisted.

“I can’t say enough about the people at the ALT. They really took Tré under their wings and have done a great job keeping him going. Those people are phenomenal, and Tré’s going to stay in it,” says John. “It’s important for Amarillo to have an Arts area. It’s been critical for Tré.”

When “The Velveteen Rabbit” wrapped, the ALT staff honored Tré by giving a singular award to the young actor called “The Spirit of Courage.”

While he is extraordinary, Tré is also a typical young boy who talks of birthday parties, karate classes and playing Wii or watching football with his dad. But ask Tré about his work with the ALT, and he sits up straight to answer each question with thought and detail.

“It’s fun to audition because I get to see what the locker rooms look like. I sing and dance but I really wish I could do more,” says Tré, sitting on his knees in a theater chair. We’re facing the old Ordway stage, which he glances at often, just prior to the photo shoot. His most recent production and favorite thus far was “The Music Man,” which ran in the spring.

“I got to be the leader in ‘The Music Man’ because Jason told the other kids to bow when I bow.”

“Did you like being the leader?” I ask him.

“Yeah, but when I mess up, when we’re practicing, he helps me to know what to really do,” he says of Jason.

John has been fortunate to have what he calls his “village” to help raise Tré. Along with his parents and sister, John relies on ALT’s help to keep his son on track. In the quieter moments, John worries about his son’s future, how unresolved grief may resurface in the teen years. The two attend counseling together, and John recently encouraged Tré to start sleeping in his own bed again.

“He’s so clever, though, because the other night he said to me, ‘I don’t know why I’m so worried about sleeping alone, Dad. You’re the one who used to sleep with Mommy,’” he says. “We were married for eight years, together for 12. I miss her companionship and her friendship. She should still be here. But it really does take a village to raise a child, so I just take it day by day.”

This summer Tré took a brief hiatus from acting to play baseball and plans on playing flag football this fall, and while he’s toyed with the idea of being a weatherman when he grows up, he always goes back to acting.

“It’s my most favorite thing to do,” he says proudly. “Did you know I won an award? I was the best one acting and I was doing all that great stuff and we had a party. Then they called me up there and I won an award. It proves to me that I’m a good actor.”

“You’re precious, Tré,” I tell him.

He kindly remarks, “They all say that.”

Next: The Dancer, Haley Anderson

by Jennie Treadway-Miller

Jennie was a columnist for the Chattanooga Times Free Press for eight years prior to moving to Amarillo in 2008. She is an avid reader, runner and writer.

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