Check out local school drama teams this week and next

One of the things that has impressed me the most in recent years when it comes to our local high school and middle school students has been the overall quality of the drama productions that different area schools have produced. I have had the opportunity to see several plays and musicals, and I always walk away amazed at how well these young folks handle themselves while performing on stage in front of large crowds.

Whether it be a song-and-dance number, an emotional line delivery, or some sort of offstage duty dealing with lighting, sound, props and/or costumes… I would consider all of the above to be high-pressure situations, yet these teens and pre-teens make it look easy.

If you would be interested in catching some spring drama productions in the coming days (and I suggest that you do), there are a few different options available to you. Both the Corbin High School and Corbin Middle School drama teams will be on stage, with the middle schoolers presenting Willy Wonka Jr. April 18-20 and the high schoolers presenting Disney’s Beauty and the Beast on April 19-20 and April 26-27.

The CMS team, which call themselves the Junior Redhound Theatre, have put on some very good, very funny plays in recent years, including “A Christmas Caroline” during the 2022 holiday season, the Addams Family last spring, and Edgar Allan Poe’s Nightmare Theatre last November. I am sure that this Wonka production will be a ton of fun.

As for the big Redhound Theatre, they have really wowed audiences in recent years with some of their other Disney adaptations, including Frozen and the Little Mermaid, so I expect Beauty and the Beast to be spectacular as well. I have a five-year-old daughter who loves to dress up as Belle, so this is definitely something that we are looking forward to in my household.

Finally, the Whitley County Colonel Players will be presenting their next competition production, “An Experiment,” on the evenings of April 18-19. I don’t know much about this production, but based on what I have seen from these guys and gals in the past, I am sure that the play will be well-performed I had the opportunity to see the Colonel Players’ last competition play, titled “Back Cover,” back in September of 2023 before they traveled to perform it in front of actual judges. A couple of months later, I got the chance to help them promote their big holiday production, titled “The Miscreants Christmas.” This is another hard-working group who really care about what they’re doing.

To learn more about any of the shows mentioned here, please call the school where it will be performed. The number at Corbin High School is (606) 528-3902. Corbin Middle School’s number is (606) 523-3619. Finally, Whitley County High School can be reached at (606) 549-7025.

• Before I end my column this week, I just wanted to say that I found last Tuesday’s Southern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce membership luncheon to be very interesting. Luncheons typically are interesting, regardless of who happens to be serving as a guest presenter, but I thought that last week’s guests from the Southeastern Kentucky Economic Development (SKED) group really had a lot of cool stuff to share.

There is too much to review here, but SKED has a great website with a bunch of links to press releases that offer details of the many great efforts that they have helped to lead when it comes to economic development throughout our region. I would encourage you to check them out at www.skedcorp.com, and if you are a current or prospective small business owner, see how they might be able to assist you.