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The Fair Grove Middle School Theater Class performed a play on December 6 and 7 called An Absolutely True Story (As Told by a Bunch of Lying Liars) by Ian McWethy in the Elementary.
This play, published on August 15, 2018, was performed by the middle school. Theater teacher and producer of the play, Leroy Barker, is in charge of organizing and directing the theater for both middle school and high school in accordance with the director, Nico Jenkins (12). Earlier this year the Fair Grove Theater performed the classic The Outsiders. This December they performed An Absolutely True Story (As Told by a Bunch of Lying Liars).
In this play, One of the characters is in enormous trouble for breaking a priceless heirloom vase in the Peterson living room. Their main objective is to figure out who broke it. “This play is different from past productions because it features several different endings. We were also hoping to give the kids a challenging play because half of the cast is in 8th grade this year and we knew that this incredible group of actors could excel with a more difficult selection,” explained Jenkins.
Cheyenne Todd (9) is the stage manager who helps direct the middle schoolers and keep them on schedule and well minded behind the scenes. The staff and actors work together hours a day for months and put in effort for their plays. “I really enjoy the people that I’m around. Theater is like my second family, and everyone here is so important to me,” stated Todd.
Behind the scenes the cast put in work to achieve their goals of making this performance worth it. The auditions took place back in October and their first rehearsals starting on November 7, the middle schoolers only had about 11 rehearsals before their final performance. “This show honestly directed itself, all of these kids are so talented and I could not have asked for a better cast and crew to put this production on. These kids had so many creative and hilarious ideas throughout the process and it was so cool to watch the show come to life,” shared Jenkins.
With the new upcoming musical next year on January 9 and 10, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, the staff give out words of encouragement for any underclassmen who would seem interested in joining. “I think that everyone can benefit from theater. Theater is such an amazing source of community and helps to build real world skills that many employers look for when hiring,” said Jenkins. “I also think that theater is, while sometimes ridiculous, one of the most entertaining extracurriculars to get involved in!”
“I think it brings everyone together in the idea that they can really bond over this shared experience, because the middle school play was not required and everyone who attended did so because they wanted to, it brings a whole new level of fondness for our production,” added Todd.
