Bryant Sample, El Rice’s instructor at C.S. Kim karate school, said that “when I first met Sundiata, I picked up right away a sense of urgency within him; it was not necessarily anger at people in general, just an energy that needed an outlet. As a result, I assigned him something that students don’t usually do until they’ve been with us at least six months; break a single board. I taught him how to do it and had him do it on his first day in our studio.
“Sundiata wasn’t big, but he was intense, powerful and moved with an aggression that superseded his experience,” Sample said. “And was such a consummate learner that he absorbed the material I taught him like a sponge—no sooner than I gave it to him he had it; ultimately I would make him a kind of mini assistant to me.”
All of this, while El Rice is still in elementary school.
El Rice soon expressed an interest in doing commercials or some acting. His mother heard about auditions being held at the Kingsley Center for an independent film, “Blood First,” and asked him if he’d like to do it. They went for the audition and he was selected for the role. “That experience kicked it off for me and opened up the world of local theater for me,” El Rice said. “I met and was able to work with a bunch of local actors and really got the bug.”
Add actor to El Rice’s resume—and he’s still not in high school yet.
Fast forward to 2015, and the CAPA ninth grader entered into and took first prize in the citywide August Wilson Monologue Competition, coordinated by the late Bill Nunn, and his colleague, Demetria Boccella. The prize for this achievement included a $15,000 scholarship and a free weekend to New York City, where El Rice had Master classes with Kenny Leon and workshops with other acting coaches.
For El Rice, it was his abiding love for Wilson, the iconic Pittsburgh playwright, which drove and increased his passion for theater. “To be able to capture such eloquence in 10 plays which show the African American experience and let everyone be able to understand it, I feel makes him a true master,” El Rice spoke of Wilson. “Capturing the African American experience is one thing, but to do it so that people of all cultures understand it is something else again. I think this is what makes Wilson so special, it is why I love everything about his work.”
It is the role of Levy in Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” that had the greatest impact on the young thespian. With a clear understanding of Wilson’s intent in creating the role, El Rice shared that “Levy’s life reflects so much of the pain of Black men in today’s society—even though the backdrop was 1910—there are many young men and older men who strive every day to function without addressing the unresolved issues of their past.”
A year after the August Wilson Monologue Competition win, El Rice won the Pittsburgh Public Theater Shakespeare Monologue Competition in 2016 for his performance of Henry’s monologue in “Henry the V.” At the time, nearly 1,300 students from over 80 schools competed.
El Rice’s focus for the future is theater, music and filmmaking. He’d like to attend Morehouse College, the Juilliard School in New York City, or the University of Southern California. He credits his mother as his greatest inspiration. “If it wasn’t for this lady here, I wouldn’t be sitting in this interview with you right now. Her sacrifices for me and my brother and love and support are too many to name.”
Scott’El Terry says her son has precision, passion and a very high level of focus. El Rice “knows how to channel all his energy into whatever the task is,” she said. “It will be his ability to focus and exercise awareness and self-control that will be the key in ushering him into continued excellence as he moves forward in life.”
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