Some 27-plus youngsters gathered at the Sampson Community Theatre this past Wednesday for the first rehearsal of Disney’s “Winnie The Pooh Kids” and they were all smiles as they discovered what part they would play in this children’s musical and received their scripts. The show will open in a short three weeks, so rehearsals will be rather intense.

For the first rehearsal, they essentially did a read-through and a sing-through an,d believe it or not, the cast paid attention and followed it all with their scripts. There are some veterans of our stage in this cast, including Jerred Yaw. Jerred was a participant in our last production “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”

There are several cast members who were members of the cast of last summer’s “The Sound of Music,” including: Lucas Jackson and Catherine Erin Smith. Catherine has the part of “Kanga” in this show and “Kanga’s” little one, “Roo” is being played by Zoe Phillips. Both of these youngsters were in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Lucas has enticed his younger sister, Lydia, to take a part in this show and she will be a part of the beehive that flies around Pooh’s “Hunny Pot” for her first time on stage.

The director tells me the set will be simple and that she still needs mothers to volunteer to help with the production, both backstage and in the green room. If you would like to help in this wonderful show, let the director know at rehearsals this Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

Angela Martin left May 28 with seven Hobbton High School seniors and another teacher to tour London, England for 10 days. This group will be meeting up with another group from Colorado for their tours and we wish them a happy experience.

Hopefully the theatre will have its website up and running again in the next few weeks but in the meantime keep up with our activities on Facebook: www.facebook.com/sampsoncommunitytheatre.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• “Winnie The Pooh” — Rehearsals are ongoing. Performances June 21-24, 28-30, July 1. A Patron Sponsor event.

• Annual Summer Drama Camp — Aug. 13-17.

• “The Carol Burnett Show Revue” — Auditions June 30 at 10 a.m. Productions Aug. 24, 25, 26, Aug. 31, Sept. 1 and 2. A Patron Sponsor event.

• “Nuncrackers” — Auditions Sept. 8. Performances Nov. 9-11 and 16-18. A Patron Sponsor event.

• “A Christmas Carol” — Auditions Oct. 27. Performances Dec. 7-9 and 14-16. A Patron Sponsor event.

THOUGHTS UNTIL NEXT WEEK:

— There maybe times when the best decision is to do nothing.

— The world always looks brighter behind a smile.

— Weather forecast for tonight, dark.