Skip to main content

Westminster College Hosts Campbell Memorial High School Students at Bright Futures Performing Arts Program

Posted on Thursday, June 25, 2009

Westminster College's Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning hosts students from Campbell (Ohio) Memorial High School at the Bright Futures Performing Arts Program "Going West with the Best and the Wacky Wild West Medicine Show" June 15-26.

Funding is provided by The Marion G. Resch Foundation in Youngstown, Ohio.

The ten-day program culminates in a performance Friday, June 26, at 7 p.m. in Westminster's Orr Auditorium. The original show, open to the public at no charge and created by the guest artists and the Campbell students, presents nine scenes set in the Old West, including:

"The Magic Gold Detector" shows townspeople bartering for a magic silver spoon.

"The Death of William H. Bonney" sheds new light on the death of legendary Billy the Kid.

"Apple Seller," shows the purchase and consumption of healing purple apples with thrilling side effects.

"The Freak Show" is the worst attempt at a freak show ever. Come see the Incredible Bearded Man.

"Yenom" shares the secrets of growing one's own money tree.

This year's Bright Futures program includes guest artists Abbey Alter, choreographer/movement specialist and performance director; Ed Shockley, screenwriter/playwright; James Willaman, musician/composer; Clarabelle VanNiekerk, visual arts designer; and Preach Freedom, acting instructor.

Cynthia Snodgrass Jones, Westminster faculty in the Department of Communication Studies, Theatre, and Art, is production manager and coordinator of the program. Mike Beck, theater technical specialist at Butler Community College, is production technical director. Recent Westminster graduate Sarah Girard and Westminster student Tiffany Burson are production assistants.

Campbell Memorial High School graduates on the production crew include: Lea Dragovich, costume assistant/props assistant, who has participated in the Bright Futures program for four years; Brittany Grant, costume assistant, who has been with the program for three years; and Ed Adams, assistant technical director, who has been with the program for three years. Jessica Burtner, costume assistant/props assistant, is new to the experience.

Alter is a co-founder of The Walnut Street Lodge, an arts, health, and community center in Sharon that offers dance, theatre, yoga, nutrition counseling, and cooking classes, and is home to The Walnut Lodge Players. After developing her own undergraduate program, the art and science of the human body, at The Pennsylvania State University, Alter earned her master's in choreography and performance, adding an in-depth study of yoga and its application to dance. She joined The Ballet Theater of the Virgin Islands as choreographer and won numerous awards for her work before leaving the islands in the wake of hurricane Hugo.

Shockley is the author of more than 60 plays and films, most notably Bobos and the 1991 Audelco Award-winning Bessie Smith: Empress of the Blues. Additional awards include the Stephen Sondheim Award for Outstanding Contributions to American Musical Theatre, the HBO New Writers Award, the Lila Wallace/Reader's Digest Production Award, and two Pennsylvania Arts Council playwriting fellowships. His credits as a producer include Stone Mansion and Bedman.

Willaman, a 2006 Westminster graduate and self-taught guitarist, formed his first band at 15; performed in blues/rock groups; and helped form Water, a regional hard rock group. He joined The Walnut Lodge Players and scored a variety of productions. He worked with schools and non-profit agencies in Western Pennsylvania conducting artist residencies for the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts. Willaman is touring with Beatles Tribute Band, portraying George Harrison, and is a fellowship student at the University of Wisconsin.

VanNiekirk, a native of South Africa, earned an undergraduate degree in early childhood education and a master's in fine art. She toured as a cellist with The Free State Symphony Orchestra; was an art lecturer; founded the London Puppet Theatre; is a resident artist for the Erie Council of the Arts; and has won awards for CDs, puppetry, education, and book covers.

Freedom, a student of Afro-Caribbean music and culture, shared his talents as arranger and composer with dozens of gospel programs in northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York. A member of national recording artists Rusted Root, he has performed with Yellowman and The Wailers and appeared in a Goo Goo Dolls video.

Jones, who earned an undergraduate degree from Otterbein College and a master's from the University of Akron, is certified in arts management and has a variety of acting roles in her résumé. She is the founder of the Lakeland Civic Theater in Mentor, Ohio, and the Arts Council of Mercer County.

Beck has nearly 20 years' experience with lighting, including the past six working professionally in lighting and sound design.

Girard, a Westminster May graduate who majored in fine art, is a daughter of Charles and Denise Girard of Emlenton and a graduate of Allegheny-Clarion Valley High School. She was involved with vocal and instrumental ensembles at Westminster.

Burson, a Westminster sophomore broadcast communications major, is a daughter of Joyce Schell of Campbell, Ohio, and a graduate of Campbell Memorial High School. A former participant in the Bright Futures program, Burson was a volunteer assistant with the 2008 program.

Contact Jones at (814) 720-0028 or e-mail jonescs@westminster.edu for more information.

Bright Futures 2009 group with artists