By Bruce Caldwell

Contributing columnist

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Oh what fun the casts of “Disney’s High School Musical” are having during the ongoing rehearsals at the Sampson Community Theater.

At a recent rehearsal some of the cast showed they did not need the stage to rehearse on as they lined up under the marquee and went through some of the complicated dance steps in preparation and they were smiling and laughing the whole time.

Needless to say when they got on the stage there were few mistakes and looked like they had been practicing for weeks instead of only days. Attorney David Hobson, the play’s sponsor, is going to be proud of Angela Martin’s fine direction and superb choreography as will you when you attend one or more of the eight scheduled performances over the last two weekends of August.

The two female adults in this show are Kathy Day and Suzi Faircloth Matthews who play the part of Ms. Darbus the drama teacher at the high school. Kathy has been in many of our shows and always does a super job. She is paired with her daughter, Sarah Day (Sharpay Evans), in this musical. Suzi Faircloth Matthews, a dance instructor, was last on our stage in 1994 when she performed in “Nunsense”. Suzi says that once you get the acting bug it never leaves you even after 21 years and probably never.

We wish to thank David Hobson, a local attorney, for volunteering to sponsor this production. David has two girls, Kate and Emma, who have been in our shows over the past few years and David wanted to show his pride for the theater in a show where his daughters were not cast members. This is the purest form of civic pride and we ask that you thank David for his generosity.

The Board met recently and a broad spectrum of shows for our 2016 season were discussed but nothing was confirmed. The board is to research the shows suggested and review the royalties and whether the rights are available with confirmation to be based on the findings. If you have a favorite show you would like to see call us at 592-8653 and leave us a message. It’s possible your suggestion will be seen on the big stage of the Sampson Community Theater next season.

Our website is available at: www.sampsoncommunitytheatre.org and we are on Facebook but if you visit us there, we ask that you “like” us while there.

Upcoming events

Disney’s High School Musical — Directed by Angela Martin. Sponsored by David Hobson, Attorney at Law. Rehearsals ongoing. Performances August 21-23 and August 28-30 (8 Shows with 8 p.m. shows on Aug. 21, 22, 28, 29 and 3 p.m. matinees on Aug. 22, 23, 29, 30.)

Big River — Directed by Dan Holland. Auditions August 1, 2015 at 10 a.m. Performances September 25, 26,27 and October 2, 3, 4. (6 Shows)

Best Little Christmas Pageant Ever — Directed by Angela Martin. Auditions Oct. 3. Performances Nov. 13-15 and Nov. 20-22. (6 shows)

Taylor Michaels Music and Magic Christmas — Performances December 18, 19 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. This is a fundraiser for the theater and not a patron sponsor event.

Thoughts until next week

Since when do we have to agree with people to defend them from injustice?

The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory but progress.

To know what people really think, pay regard to what they do, rather than what they say.

Bruce Caldwell is a member of the Sampson Community Theatre Board of Directors.