{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Sweet to take final bow as Colonel Players director &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"eDLErG7tac\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/sweet-to-take-final-bow-as-colonel-players-director\/\">Sweet to take final bow as Colonel Players director<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/sweet-to-take-final-bow-as-colonel-players-director\/embed\/#?secret=eDLErG7tac\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Sweet to take final bow as Colonel Players director&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"eDLErG7tac\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/David-Sweet.jpg","thumbnail_width":417,"thumbnail_height":434,"description":"When the curtain closes this weekend on the Whitley County Colonel Players\u2019 final production of the year, the drama program\u2019s instructor will take his final bow in that role, where he has taught and directed for 21 years. David Sweet, known affectionally by his drama students as \u201cThe Sweetness,\u201d will be entering retirement at the end of the school year. Sweet began his professional career right out of college as a journalist with The News Journal in the late \u201880s before taking a public relations position with the Whitley County School District in 1992. While continuing to work for the district, Sweet was inspired by his wife, Lisa, who has now taught at Whitley Central Primary for 31 years, to return to school to obtain his master\u2019s degree. Upon completion, he transitioned into a teaching role at Whitley County High School in 1997. During his time as an instructor, Sweet has taught a broad variety of subjects, ranging from journalism to creative writing to broadcasting, but there was one class that he was always drawn to: drama and theater. Though WCHS had previously had a drama program, it had been defunct for about 10 years before Sweet revived it in 2001. Over the last two decades, Sweet has built a respectable program where he has aided numerous students in overcoming their fears, honing their skills and even finding talents they didn\u2019t even know they had. And even with all the care, attention and time he has devoted to the program over the years, he is still quick to defer praise to his students. \u201cI think\u2014for me\u2014one of the things I see the most in theater is kids come in and they\u2019re really shy and afraid to get up on stage and afraid to get up to speak in front of anybody. Then they get up on stage and they realize they have a confidence that they didn\u2019t have before,\u201d said Sweet. \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m most proud of. \u201cI\u2019m just standing on the shoulders of all the students who have performed the last 21 years. They\u2019re the ones that do all the work. I direct, but they\u2019re the ones that do the work. People don\u2019t come to watch me perform, they come to watch the kids perform. It\u2019s really the students that have built what we\u2019ve done. In the end, that\u2019s really what it\u2019s always about.\u201d But before Sweet settles into his comfy backyard hammock (which he said is his favorite place to relax) for good, the Colonel Players have one final hurrah with Sweet at the helm. The troupe will be presenting their rendition of \u201cThe Outsiders\u201d Thursday through Saturday, with a performance at 7 p.m. each night and a special 2 p.m. show on Saturday. According to Sweet, the idea for the play was given to him last year by a student, Makenzie Lunsford, who is a fan of the book\/movie. While initially hesitant due to the drama program not having enough male actors to play the roles, plans were discussed for having female actors play some of the traditionally male roles. However, the program saw an influx of students this year, which allowed for enough male actors to play the male roles. Despite having enough actors, Sweet said the students still wanted to move forward with playing opposite-gendered roles, so the cast was broken up into two parts and there will be two versions of the play\u2014one with all the actors in their traditional roles and one with the male actors in the female rolls and vice-versa. \u201cThe kids have really embraced it,\u201d said Sweet. \u201cI\u2019ve got some really talented actors.\u201d When the production wraps Saturday night, Sweet will have just a few more days with students before they go home for the summer and he moves on toward retirement. Once he gets there, he said he is looking forward to relaxing a bit more, but doesn\u2019t anticipate staying idle in his retirement. He and his wife\u2014who is also retiring at the end of the school year\u2014are planning a move to the Newport, Tennessee area, which is where his wife is originally from. He said he has been working on a number of fiction pieces he plans to devote more time to during retirement and hopes to be able to get them published. But he also has a backup plan just in case. \u201cI joke all the time about getting a job at Dollywood and being the guy that operates the Thunderhead rollercoaster ride and says \u2018Let the thunder roll,\u201d said Sweet. \u201cI doubt I would do any of that, but it would be a great job for me. That would be fun.\u201d"}