Middle school and high school students in Cheney, Clearwater and Goddard will be presenting several plays and concerts in the next few days. Here's a look at what's on tap:
Cheney band and choir concert is Monday
Cheney High School will hold its band and choir concert on Monday.
This concert is held annually to showcase the festival music performed by the Cheney High School Music Department. Students will perform these pieces at the Central Plains Music Festival on March 9 in Belle Plaine and at the State Large Group Festival on April 14 in Haven.
The concert will feature the Cheney High School band, the advanced choir, and the boys and girls glee.
The band will perform at 6 p.m., followed by the choir at 7 p.m. Admission is free.
Clearwater drama students to present spring play
The Clearwater High School drama department is implementing something new with its spring play this weekend. Students are offering a Saturday afternoon matinee for their production of “The Family Man.”
The show opens Friday night with a 7 p.m. performance, and then continues with two performances on Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
“During the fall musical, we surveyed audience members to see if there was an interest in adding a matinee performance for future productions,” said Roxana Stitt, director for this show. “With overwhelming support for a matinee, we decided to add the third performance this spring.”
“The Family Man” is a comedy set in the 1950s. The story centers around Bill Cahill, played by Micheal Kreuzburg, who is the typical working man, husband, and father of two until an injury keeps him from working.
His wife, the typical ‘50s homemaker played by Kaitlyn Schmiessner, has to go to work in order to provide for the family. Bill, on the other hand, joins the PTA, does the housework, and even enters a baking contest where he is named “Homemaker of the Year,” a title that is traditionally reserved for the lady of the house.
The Cahill children are being played by Dalton Chambers and Allie Henry. Others in the cast include: Hope Burke, Krisi Colburn, Jill Criswell, Megan Fisher, Daniel Guiltner, Shelbi Loger, Erin Morris, Sam Mumford, Andrew Parmely, Nick Rinke, Jake Sizemore, Cheyenne Swan, Hannah Tjaden, James Westbrook, Anna White, and Dalton Zogleman.
Tickets for the March 5 and 6 performances of “The Family Man” are on sale this week in the high school office and also available at the door before each performance. The cost for tickets is $5.
Goddard middle schools to present one-act plays
Robert Goddard and Eisenhower middle schools will perform a Readers’ Theatre version of “The Monkey’s Paw” and a one-act play “Wishful Thinking” by Kenneth Preuss.
The Readers’ Theatre performance is the classic short story of a monkey’s paw with the power to grant wishes but is that a blessing or a curse?
“Wishful Thinking” is a spoof on “The Monkey’s Paw” with a rabbit’s foot instead of a monkey’s paw. Can it grant wishes, too? Mrs. Ceasar’s high school English class has been studying “The Monkey’s Paw,” so they decide to give the rabbit’s foot a try. Do they find the same power and curse in the rabbit’s foot? It’s a hilarious play about kids that try to change fate.
The Eisenhower cast include: Ashley Abbott, Paige Bates, Nathan Bayliff, Brenna Bergeron, Ali Blasi, Sarah Buchanan, Ashton Gilstrap, Molly Goltl, Jordan Johnson, Nikki Marshall, Morgan Gillespie-Morton, Kacy Nash, Bailey Pankratz, Austin Pohl, Noah Rockett, Garrett Sigman, Hannah Sisemore, Megan Smalley, Jillian Stockton, Marta Swartz, Tory Van Steinberg, Cheyenne Williams and Madison Winter.
The Robert Goddard Middle School cast members are: Brynn Adams, Mark Adair, Lexi Cole, Kelli Costin, Karen Dougherty, Morgan Felkey Scott Chavez-Gonzalez, Jordan Gorges, Courtney Smetana-Hull, Taylor Jacobson, Nancy Lartey, Mercedes Lubbers, Ben Maier, Lexi Nunnelley, Jennifer Rodman, Valerie Schroeder, Cori Stewart, Ally Urban, Hope Watkins, and Stephanie Whittit.
The plays are directed by Nancy Fredrickson, who has been directing the middle school productions for 33 years. Fredrickson said she feels very lucky to be able to have worked with talented students all of these years.
“Many of the high school actors performed in the middle school plays when they were in seventh and eighth grade and began their love of theatre then. The actors, this year and in the past, can tell you it requires many hours of ‘boring’ practice and hard work to come to the point of developing a character. But there is no better feeling than giving a solid live performance – stage fright and all. We hope the community will come out and support these great kids,” she said.
Tickets are available at the door on the night of performance and are $3 for adults and $2 for students.
Performances will be this Friday. EMS students will perform at 7 p.m., while RGMS students will take the stage at 8 p.m. Both performances will be at the Robert Goddard auditorium. |
